


Holding Out for a Hero

by Lavendertwilight89



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Elements, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:26:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29376342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavendertwilight89/pseuds/Lavendertwilight89
Summary: Inuyasha has always lived alone until the new lord of the Western Lands banished all kinds of beings onto his lands. Now he is tasked with rescuing a princess from a dragon for the lord can marry her. But what happens when they fall in love along with way?
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 50





	1. Allstar

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluejay785](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejay785/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY!!!!!
> 
> no smoots in this chapter so it's safe to read!

Inuyasha liked his privacy. He was an ugly, hideous beast and preferred to keep to himself. Many times humans had come trying to take his lands, to hunt him down, only to realize what a grave mistake they had made.

So when a bunch of random-ass demons, half-demons, and even some spiritualists started encroaching on his territory, he began to grow angry. Frustrated. Confused??

“What the FUCK are you doing here?!?!” Inuyasha roared finally on the night as he gazed outside his hut and saw every fucking creature known to man-kind on his fucking front porch. Call him paranoid, call him an asshole, but these were his lands and he had been alone for a  _ longggggggggggggggg _ time. His choice. Along with everyone-fucking-else… Who wanted a half-breed around?

“We were told we had to vacate the new lord’s land,” a monk replied easily as he stoked the fire he sat in front of.

“Vacate?! What the hell does that mean?!”

“It means,” the monk said with a slight hint of annoyance, “that we are now banished to your lands, hanyou.”

“Why my lands? Why not go find your own?” Inuyasha was losing his patience with this asshole who was talking to him like he was a fucking child.

“Because the Lord has taken over all the lands!!” A young fox kit replied from behind the monk angrily cried.

“Who the fuck is this new lord and why does he think he literally owns everything??”

“His name is Onigumo, and he has a rather large army. The young hime who he married to join the kingdom passed rather unexpectedly and his generals and soldiers ended up marching to the castle. He began pushing out anyone who could ‘threaten’ his perfect kingdom,” the monk explained.

“What constituted that?? Sounds like a dumbass human.”

“That, I agree with you on, hanyou,” the monk smiled tiredly. “He thought anything that isn’t human—a normal human—had to go.”

“That’s fuckin’ stupid. I’m gonna go tell that jackass to piss off and get you ass-clowns off my land,” Inuyasha declared.

“Care for some company?” The monk asked kindly. Almost too kindly. Like he wanted something—

“Fuck no.”

“Well, I may as well join you. Just in case. You never know what you might find in these lands,” the monk said as he rose from his squatting position to follow. 

“I said I didn’t need any fuckin’—”

“Oh!! I’ll come too!” the fox kit chirped as he leapt up onto the monk’s shoulder.

“This already annoying enough—how the fuck are you two so cordial?? How do I know you won’t distract me with some stupid kitsune magic while the bouzu purifies me into oblivion?? Stay the fuck here, or better yet—the get the fuck outta my home!”

“You sure are a surly one,” the monk laughed. “My name is Miroku, and this kitsune is Shippo. He lost both of his parents in the raids by the lord’s generals and I found him. I do not believe all youkai are inherently evil. If they were, wouldn’t you have attacked all of us the moment we were approaching your lands? It wasn’t until we were all smushed upon your front door that you finally got anxious.”

“I WAS  _ NOT _ ANXIOUS! I AM  _ ANNOYED _ ! THIS IS  _ MY _ TERRITORY!” Inuyasha yelled in exasperation.

“Of course, of course,” Miroku brushed him off with amusement. It made Inuyasha growl in response.

“We’ll show you the way—” The kitsune waved from Miroku’s shoulder as he began to head toward the hordes of people. Inuyasha’s growl escalated to a snarl of distaste.

“You’re goin’, hanyou??” A wolf demon asked.

“Fuck yea—I want you all off my goddamn lands!”

“Did you hear that?!” A young miko with blue shouted with excitement.

“The hanyou is going to defeat Lord Onigumo!!” The ookami youkai chanted together as some of the mikos cheered along with some other demons.

“Shut the fuck up—I’m not doing nothing but getting you all off my fuckin’ property!!” Inuyasha shouted as he bobbed his way through the crowd. Once they were far enough away, he noticed the monk, named Miroku, and the kitsune named Shippo were still following, making light conversation between them. His patience was already wearing thin. “Will you two shut up!?! God! This is exactly why I live alone!!”

“You’d think for someone who was alone you’d be happy to have company,” Shippo commented.

“Just the fucking opposite,” Inuyasha growled.

“It’s not that he wants to be alone, Shippo; it’s actually he is so used to not letting his heart be broken by harsh words of humans and demons,” Miroku supplied.

Inuyasha literally thought his brain snapped. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to the monk and glared harshly, “Why the fuck you talkin’ about me like you know me?! You know NOTHING!!”

“I believe I know more than enough, Inuyasha,” Miroku replied.

At that reply, Inuyasha reached out and grabbed Miroku by the throat. Shippo gasped and leapt from the monk’s shoulder and began demanding for Inuyasha to release him. “How the fuck do you know my name?!”

“There aren’t many half-dog-demons in the word my friend,” Miroku ground out. “Also not many are granted land by a princess to live on their own.”

“Shut up—”

“There is nothing to be ashamed of, Inuyasha.”

“Who else knows who I am,” Inuyasha growled. His past was private and the fact this monk knew made him anxious and edgy. 

“No one as far as I know,” Miroku replied. Inuyasha loosened his grip slightly.

“Leave Miroku alone, you big bully!!” Shippo cried.

“Shut up, runt. The monk and I have business. How do you know who I am?? What have you heard,” Inuyasha demanded.

“I worked in the castle with the hime. I was the book-keeper as well as the monk who served in the blessings… The old scrolls are still there from when your mother was the Queen.”

“Enough. I don’t need a history lesson,” Inuyasha scoffed as he released Miroku and finally began to walk ahead at a quicker pace in hopes of losing his two followers.

“You were the one who inquired about my knowledge on the subject,” Miroku laughed as he leaned down to pick up the kitsune and follow Inuyasha at the brisk pace.

“Needed to make sure that shit isn’t spread around. For all intents and purposes, I’m dead. No one else needs to know of my history,” Inuyasha spat.

“Why would you not want people to know who you are?” Shippo asked, curious about the hanyou’s past.

“It’s none of your business,” Inuyasha stated firmly.

“We mean you no harm, Inuyasha. We only wish to get to know you—as allies—as friends,” Miroku supplied, trying to soothe the angry hanyou.

“I don’t need friends. Hence why I live alone.”

“Yes, yes, so you’ve mentioned,” Miroku said in a tone that wasn’t convincing.

Inuyasha reluctantly decided to remain quiet the rest of the way to the palace as the other two chatted. He decided it was likely better just to not say anything because once the demons and spiritualists were off his lands, everything could go back to normal. The hanyou would be alone, and no one would remember him.

Time passed rather quickly, but then again, he kept a firm pace. He was shocked the monk had moved effortlessly with him to keep up. But Inuyasha didn’t comment. That would lead to more conversations, more things about his past revealed, and even the possibility of them becoming ‘friends’. What a load of shit.

Once they were halfway to the castle, Inuyasha decided it was time to stop and eat. The fox had been complaining rather loudly about how hungry he was and the monk was subtly dropping hints about some fields they were approaching bearing plenty of vegetables and how they often lured smaller animals to their orchards…

Whatever. He knew he should have gone by himself, or just left them behind in the dust. But…

No. He wouldn’t admit it. This was temporary. Inuyasha was always better off alone. And he would never say anything otherwise because being alone meant no one could hurt him, no one could scorn him, and no one would ever betray him.

“Mmmmmm,” Shippo hummed in delight as he chewed his portion of rabbit.

“Mmm indeed. This is quite good, Inuyasha,” Miroku said approvingly.

“Whatever. Flattery doesn’t make us friends,” Inuyasha brushed off.

“Of course not, but it never hurts to be kind,” Miroku replied with a smile. What a fucking weirdo.

Once they were done, Inuyasha rose again and kept a quick pace trying to get to Lord Onigumo’s castle. He was surprised they came in contact with no one. There were no travelers on the roads, there were no random villagers camping out in the forests, no one working in the fields…

It was eerie. Inuyasha hadn’t really left his home for years… But even when he and his mother had built their hut and retreated from the world, it hadn’t been uncommon to see passing humans, demons, creatures of all kinds. But now… Now there was no one.

“This is fuckin’ weird,” Inuyasha muttered aloud, not to voice his concern to his unlikely companions, but more to make sure there truly was no one in hiding. No one to sneak up on them. Test to see what the fuck was happening.

“Lord Onigumo drove everyone out, my friend,” Miroku said with a grievance in his voice.

“We ain’t friends,” Inuyasha emphasized, even though he was getting tired of pointing that out to the monk and fox kit.

“Yes, yes, but Lord Onigumo wanted only regular humans to rule over,” Miroku continued without pause.

“This is creepy,” Shippo added as he shrank into the monk’s shoulder like he expected Miroku’s robes to open up and shield him.

“Don’t be such a baby,” Inuyasha scoffed. “I’m sure people are in the village surrounding the castle.”

How wrong Inuyasha was. There was no one. The huts were empty, almost barren of normal everyday tools. His ears twitched as they approached the castle and he realized there were voices resounding within it.

“Did this bastard make everyone move in to my fuckin’ land? Or just adopt everyone into the palace?” Inuyasha growled in annoyance. He had wanted to make this fucking quick; demand the lord let everyone return to their home, get his own land back, be promised the privacy that he once was granted, and carry on with his fuckin’ life in peace.

“He is likely holding an assembly,” the monk pointed out.

“Why?? The hell would he need to do that for??”

“Lord Onigumo is kinda crazy if you hadn’t noticed,” Shippo said with a condescending tone that earned him a threatening look from Inuyasha. He quivered and shrank behind Miroku’s shoulder.

“Now, now,” Miroku tried to placate, “let’s not fight amongst ourselves.”

“Whatever, let’s do this,” Inuyasha said as he entered the castle trying to ready himself for whatever may come.

Which was nothing. Not. A. Fucking. Thing. What in the fuck was going on???

“Likely they are in the arena,” Miroku supplied.

“How the fuck do you know so much!?” Inuyasha spat fully annoyed.

“I served the princess, remember? She was married to him briefly before she passed.”

“Don’t you find this whole thing kinda fucked up?”

“I do, my friend. But no one can overthrow a prince…” Miroku added darkly as though he had tried to find a loophole in his little studies. Inuyasha stared intently at the monk before walking to the so-called arena. He heard a bunch of cheering and then the muffled words, “—and if you are to die, then the sacrifice will be just. We must save the princess who is held captive in the valley of fire.”

The cheering continued until the hanyou stepped into the sunlight. Everyone gasped and fretted and then he saw the young lord of the castle gaze down at him from the tall balcony above them. The fuck had brown eyes and dreaded black hair. He wore a purple speckled vest over his dark haori. The man stared down at Inuyasha with disgust until he raised his hand up to silence everyone as he closed his eyes as if he had reached a decision in his mind. There were at least a hundred or so humans in the stands of the area gazing down upon them… Not one spiritualist or demon among them. Just as the monk had said.

“Well, well,” the Lord spoke, “what brings a hanyou, a monk, and kitsune into my pure-blooded castle?”

“‘Pure’? Bullshit. Just because your ‘people’ are ordinary humans, doesn’t make them pure,” Inuyasha growled. 

“You and I do not share the same ideology. But no matter,” the lord snapped his fingers and suddenly, they were surrounded by the soldiers who were standing in the arena around them. “Whoever slays the half-breed can be the first general to save the princess from the valley of fire and receive a favor from your lord.”

“In your fuckin’ dreams,” Inuyasha growled. He leapt into action and jumped over the men and grabbed the two that were nearest and slammed their heads together, knocking them unconscious. While Inuyasha was threatening and hated basically everyone, he didn’t make it a point to kill humans or demons without cause.

He lunged out of the way of a spear that was swung down at him and he took off in a sprint, luring the others to follow him. The hanyou ran up the wall and pushed off the stone to do a backflip over them. With the distraction, Inuyasha kicked the one at the far end of where he landed in the side of the head, and then the next one he punched in the face. 

Smirking down at his fallen prey, Inuyasha was nearly beheaded when one came swinging his sword. Miroku’s shout of his name focused him and he ducked and then slammed his body into the guard, shoving him back into another.

Inuyasha retreated as another six were hot on his tail. If they were stronger, the hanyou might have been a little more worried. But—he still was a little outnumbered and didn’t feel like getting stabbed and having to take a night to heal. Not on the agenda. Currently, his job was to beat these guards' asses, then pummel the lord, get his lands back, then take a much-needed nap.

He was surrounded, and as he dodged and pivoted around the soldiers, he made sure none landed an actual hit on him, as he didn’t want one of them to accidentally stab themselves either so he had to maintain his current state of flight rather than fight.

“Inuyasha!” he heard the runt call. Looking up as he moved out of the way of another fucking spear (for real, why did humans think that was a good weapon??) and saw the tike hovering above them as a giant pink balloon dropped a bunch of bombs onto them. Inuyasha groaned and jumped away from them to land behind the group as they began to cough. He managed to smack three more behind the neck as the smoke cleared and noticed the other remaining men were unconscious in front of the monk, who was holding his  shakujō as if he had been the one to take them out.

“I coulda handled it!” Inuyasha chastised.

“The proper thing to say is ‘thank you’,” Miroku supplied with a smile as the pink balloon popped and Shippo’s real body appeared on the monk’s shoulder.

Inuyasha nodded, smirking slightly at the quip from the religious man, and then turned back to give Onigumo a big shit-eating grin. “So… what was that about some reward if someone could beat me?”

Lord Onigumo only smiled and then waved his hand by his head. Clearly, it was to summon as all the archers above them drew their bows and arrows and pointed them directly at Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo. The hanyou stepped defensively back in front of the monk who tightened his grip on his staff.

“Shall we end them?” one of the guards asked their Lord.

“No… I have a better idea,” the lord said sadistically, quietly. “My great people!” he then bellowed. “I present to you, your champion!!”

Inuyasha was deeply confused and thrown off by the sudden cheers and applause he almost face-planted into the ground. “Say what?!?!”

“You have been chosen by your lord, Onigumo, to go and save the princess who is to be my bride!”

“I’m not a fucking errand boy! I just want all the demons and spiritualists off my goddamn lands!!!”

“If you complete this mission, your wish will be granted for there is nothing that I, Lord Onigumo, cannot do!”

_ Then you go save the fuckin’ princess, you lazy mother fucker _ … But Inuyasha kept his thoughts to himself, since this seemed like a fuckin’ easy adventure anyway. Save some bitch and then he could have his private life once again.

“Fine. Better get them packing because I’ll be back with your bitch before nightfall at week’s end,” Inuyasha stated before turning away.

Miroku and Shippo quickly followed.“Wait! Inuyasha!”

“Look, I’m a fuckin’ mercenary, but is this dumb fuck wants his bitch as the price to take everyone back? So be it. Easy.”

“But I think you’re missing some of the details!” Shippo cried in fear as they exited the arena. 

“Young Shippo is right—have you not heard of the tales of the princess who was being held captive by the dragon? That’s why the valley had to be renamed,” Miroku informed him as they finally cleared the castle grounds and began heading north.

Inuyasha didn’t care for legends or stories. His own history had been more or less erased; the only person who seemed to know him was the monk behind him, who was chattering about who knew what. Once Miroku tried to tell him the story behind the captive princess, the hanyou began to ignore him. Dragon? Demon? Beast? Whatever. He didn’t give a flying fuck. Whatever it was that holding the betrothed bitch was about to die.

~~~~

Kagome stared outside her window from the tower she was locked in. The wind blew her long black hair that fell down to her waist towards the door of her room. The breeze was nice; it almost felt like the winds of change, but she couldn’t allow herself to grow excited after so many disappointments. She had been there for just over three years—in the tower. Ever since her fifteenth birthday. Now she was eighteen. No one had been worthy enough to save her… 

Sighing, she stood from her perch on the window, smoothed down her long green yukata that was decorated with sunflowers, made her way over to her bed, and picked up her journal she often wrote in. It was one of the parting gifts she had received when she was whisked away to be locked up until her true love could rescue her.

Fairy Tales. They were the only things that kept the hope deep within her heart alive. One day, her Prince Charming would come, win the battle against the dragon, and then take her back to his kingdom and bestow upon her true love’s kiss and they would live happily after.

But… After three years she was slightly losing her dream. Maybe she would never be able to leave. Maybe she would always have to live in the tower. Maybe she would never be free ever again. Maybe no one wanted to rescue her. After all, who would want to win the fair maiden’s hand when they could just go to another neighboring village and win over the hime without a true fight? Just through diplomacy?

“Who am I kidding…” Kagome said as she dropped the journal to the floor, and then flopped to the bed and began to cry. The sun was setting and it was just going to be another night alone… Well, not completely alone. The dragon was there, and she was never too far from her princess.

~~~~

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo arrived the next morning. Or rather, what they assumed was morning. It was dark and looked (and smelled for that matter) like it was about to storm. They had stopped to rest in the forest to be well-rested. The hanyou wanted to be prepared to fight whatever the fuck Miroku kept going on and on and on and  _ onnnnnnn _ about.

“Look—I’m a half-demon. I’m built differently than you weak mortals,” Inuyasha scoffed. “Even if the dragon blows fire, I’ll be fine; but you asses, maybe not.”

“I’ll protect Miroku with my foxfire!” Shippo exclaimed.

“You both should just stay outside,” Inuyasha advised harshly.

“We are in this together, Inuyasha. Whether you want to accept that or not, Shippo and I joined you on your missing not just to help get our homes back, but because we genuinely want to aid you. Besides, it is starting to rain. Can’t let us catch a cold now, can you?”

“Suit yourselves, but if you die, it ain’t gonna be on my conscience,” Inuyasha said as he looked towards the broken-down castle. There was a rickety old wooden rope walkway that bridged the gap between where they stood and the land where the building was anchored. Inuyasha looked down and saw nothing but mist. Obviously a long way down. The trench had to have been man-made… There appeared to only be one way in, and one way out. 

Just what the fuck was going on here?

“Miroku—why was the princess being held captive here again?” Inuyasha asked impatiently.

“Scrolls actually did not dictate why—it was only mentioned her family sent her here on her fifteenth birthday and that a kiss from her true love would be able to rescue her.”

“...What kind of fairy tale bullshit is that?” Inuyasha scoffed as he looked back at the bridge. “Tell me about the dragon again.”

“There wasn’t a lot of mention of the creature either. Just that it would protect the princess with its life,” Miroku explained. “Did you not listen at all when I spoke of this yesterday?? I saw your ears swiveling!”

“Shut up and let’s go if you’re still bent on walking to your death,” Inuyasha ordered as he began to walk across the bridge. Miroku followed behind him with Shippo still perched on his shoulder. His poofy tail shook and Inuyasha heard his teeth chatter in fear.

When they finally reached the other side, Inuyasha scoffed and rolled his eyes. There was no dragon in fucking sight. The sound of thunder resounded and he groaned in annoyance. “We should split up. You go get the princess since you know so much about her and get her to come down here—I’ll handle the dragon.”

“Are you sure? I could just seal the dragon—”

“I’m positive. Go,” Inuyasha stated as he began to walk around the castle. Miroku and Shippo headed another way giving the hanyou a moment to scent out what was actually there in the broken-down building. He didn’t scent a dragon—let alone sense one… Was it dormant or something and only awakened when someone got near the princess? The only scents were of humans… Maybe the downpour beyond the canopy made from broken walls was fuckin’ with his senses. 

A startled yelp made Inuyasha turn—FUCK! He ran quickly through the ground and finally tracked Miroku and saw a—

A woman. A fucking human woman who had Miroku pinned down with a giant ass demonic bone lifted over her head, and sword pointed at his throat.

“HEY!!” Inuyasha yelled, making the woman stumble in step. Her dark brown eyes turned their glare upon him and she rose up to her full height. She lowered her stupidly huge weapon so it draped around her back, her hand gripping the straps at the top of her boomerang. The wind whipped her long dark brown hair that was held in a high ponytail around her face, but she didn’t even flinch from discomfort. 

“And you are?” The woman said, muffled through her gray mask that rested over her mouth and nose. For such a short person, she actually seemed kind of intimidating.

“I’m here for the princess,” Inuyasha said evenly, showing that he wasn’t intimidated by her. Even though she was obviously a trained warrior. 

“That is for me to determine. You must prove your worth and defeat me.”

“Says who??”

The woman’s eyes widened slightly and then narrowed in confusion, “Do you not know anything about the trials? The legends?”

“Nope,” Inuyasha replied as he shot Miroku a glance, conveying for him to ‘GET FUCKING GOING’. Miroku rose and quietly made his way towards the corridor behind him.

The dragon turned toward the monk and she gripped her weapon, ready to swing when Inuyasha leapt in front of her and grabbed her weapon. She glared and took her sword in her other hand and thrust it towards his being. The hanyou barely had time to dodge the blow before her boomerang came swinging down towards his face.

“Gahhh!” He cried as he tucked into a backward somersault to avoid the giant weapon. He bounced up and a good couple meters from the woman. Inuyasha glanced down and gulped when he saw the demonic bone had dented the actual cement.

“I will catch him when I’m done with you,” the so-called dragon said coldly before lifting the damn boomerang and throwing the monstrosity towards him.

“FUCK!!! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ATTACKING US?!?!” Inuyasha yelled as he barely managed to swipe left of the massive thing, only to be nearly cut down by her blade. It wasn’t even somewhat affected by the gusting air around them. “SHIT! HOW ARE YOU MOVING LIKE A DEMON?!?!”

“I’ve trained to protect the princess my whole life. It is my duty to make sure some swine who thinks they can just claim her is eliminated! Do you know how many men, how many demons have come, only to try and  _ eat _ her? Take her as a  _ prize _ ? She is the most amazing human being  _ I _ have ever met and I will die before I let someone unworthy, someone who can’t protect her, someone who will just use her—” she declared as she kept attacking Inuyasha “—she will never be just some trophy!! She deserves to be equal! Now fight, hanyou!!!”

A hidden blade emerged from her left arm and she swung up, nicking Inuyasha’s cheek. Fuck. It burned and showed she wasn’t fooling around. This woman had been trained her entire life to protect the princess. Inuyasha couldn’t smell the remains of demons—but he wouldn’t be surprised by the number the ‘dragon’ hinted at their being. What he could scent was the acrid remains of humans in the humidity that swirled around them as the torrential rain poured off the overhang.

Had this woman really taken down that many sick men? Who was this princess and why was she so desired?? The hanyou suddenly felt sick as he managed to evade the woman who was fiercely protecting her charge, but couldn’t bring himself to attack her in return. Inuyasha was  experiencing something he had never felt: guilt. He’d never had to weigh his decisions before…but the fact this princess already had been more or less reduced to an object made him think that if he won her… and then gave her away so that he could regain his freedom—his land—he would just be another one of those selfish, sick men...

But he had already come so far… And the youkai and mortals who had been banished out of their homes, some even separated from their families?  _ Fuck _ . 

Now he was weighing one life against others? This week was definitely bringing out sides of him he didn’t much care for. Emotions—things the hanyou had locked down pretty tightly since his mother passed—were emerging and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle it—especially in the middle of a fight this dragon made quite clear would end when one of them was dead.

He finally pushed her back, and took a step forward, trying to knock a weapon out one of her hands. Inuyasha wasn’t picky; he just needed to get one of her swords, or even the giant bone, away from her so it would be a little fairer. 

“Inuyasha!” The monk called. The dragon narrowed her eyes, as he looked to see the monk behind her, as if he was trying to be a  _ dumbass _ distraction. Before he could react, the woman slammed her boomerang into Inuyasha, sending him flying backward into the cement and bringing a wall down on top of him. 

~~~~

Kagome was sitting with Sango eating their breakfast that the ‘dragon’ had caught when they heard someone enter the castle grounds.

“Please be careful,” Kagome whispered as Sango fastened her armor and gathered her weapons.

“This is my job, Kagome. No one will take you from here until they can get through me,” Sango replied as she fastened her mask over her face. 

“That’s the thing though… I don’t want them to get through you. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Kagome pleaded. 

“The only one who is said that can defeat me without harming me is your soulmate.”

“But—Sango—What about you?” Kagome pleaded as she rose and took the young woman’s hand.

“Kagome, I can promise you that the man who will be worthy of you will not harm me. He’ll find a way to win without that. And I will always be victorious against those who would seek to harm you,” Sango smiled as she clasped her hand within the princess’s before she turned and left the room.

Sighing, Kagome went and sat by the window as she watched the storm roll in. The wind was howling and the rain became a downpour. She turned her gaze down to her tucked knees and rested her chin upon them. Biting her lips, she closed her eyes and hoped that maybe this storm would wash away the old and bring about the new…

A new adventure. Maybe new friends? She missed her old ones from home, but knew she was locked away for her own safety as well as the safety of others. But, while she missed her old life, she knew it was behind her. She wanted more. Kagome knew she was a princess, but that was never the life she really wanted—she didn’t want to be above anyone.

While Sango’s duty was to be with her and protect her, Kagome saw her more like a sister. And Sango relayed those feelings, which made her more lethal in her dealings with intruders. 

When they originally were brought to the broken-down castle, they were hopeful and ambitious that someone would come to rescue Kagome and then they would live happily ever after…

Their hopes were quickly dashed when they realized the lords were looking for a prize in a young woman. ‘Prize’ was even a little bit more a downgrade of what they were looking for. Child-bride was actually more accurate terminology. Just an object to be placed at the side of man to be possessed. Not even loved...

Then there were demons who desired to just eat her. Sango ended them quickly. The human lords were at least given some leeway, but even then, Sango did not hold back if their intentions were made clear. Kagome was not a thing and would not sit back and allow herself to be ruled or to not be treated as an equal.

Now that she was eighteen? The Lords and their generals had slowed down. Kagome looked like she was cursed and the stories about her tale probably were twisted and now—no man really likely wanted her. Not anymore.

The sudden crash startled her. Oh, Gods…

Hopping off the windowsill, she crossed the room to the door and paused as her hand touched the handle. Sango told her to never open the door until she returned… The door was the last line of defense between Kagome and whatever possible thing wanted her. But something, someone was calling her. 

Swallowing the giant lump in her throat, Kagome twisted the knob and as she gazed down the steps, she saw a man—standing in samurai armor, looking over himself. How he had survived the impact, let alone was standing so quickly, was aweing. She gasped and the man turned towards her. 

“Where—Where’s Sango…?” Kagome whispered as dread filled her being. Had this man defeated her friend?? No one had ever made it past her before. She always swore to the hime that when someone made it past her, that it would be the man who would save her from imprisonment. But Sango was nowhere in sight; she promised she would be there!

“That’s her name?? Fuck,” the soldier groaned as he approached her. Kagome stepped back to allow him room. He looked down at her through the shield he wore on his face. It looked dusty and old—like it hadn’t been worn in some time. His unearthly amber eyes pierced her soul and she swore her heart skipped a beat. A blush rose to her face and she immediately felt weak in her knees. Even though Sango wasn’t there, she knew she could trust the man before her. He hadn't harmed Sango because he didn’t brag about it or seem overly confident. This was him. This was the man who was her soulmate, her true love—he was going to—

Grab her and fling her over his  _ shoulder _ ?!?!?

“Wh-What are you doing?!?” Kagome cried in confusion.

“We’re goin’,” the man snarled.

“H-Hey!! WE’RE SUPPOSED TO KISS AND AND AND AND—-”

“Will you shut up?? I’m here to fuckin’ rescue you and you and the quote-unquote ‘dragon’ keep changin’ up the goddamn plans,” he growled as he leapt through the gaping hole of the stairwell.

“We are changing the plans?!?! What does that even mean!!? You are the one messing things up!!”

“Hardly; who the fuck writes in a scroll that princess was imprisoned in a broken-down old castle in the valley of fire protected by a fuckin’ dragon when NONE of that is even true?!?!” The soldier yelled as he leapt out into the rain under the awning Sango was under with what looked like a monk and kitsune.

“Sango!!” Kagome cried in relief as she struggled to get out of the soldier’s arm.

“Release the princess at once!!” Sango demanded.

“Listen, let us relax and explain our tale… There’s no need to keep fighting,” the monk spoke in a comforting tone to try and placate the situation.

“Yea—I’m also not gonna just put her down because with the hime in my arms, you ain’t gonna attack me,” the man said cockily.

“I could skin you before you could even move—” Sango threatened, raising her sword as the monk stood between them holding his arms up to stop them from bickering.

“Now, now, why don’t we all sit and discuss this civilly and work this out? I’m sure you’re tired of fighting… Sango, was it?”

“You may still refer to me as the dragon, lord monk,” Sango ordered as she sheathed her sword and then gazed back at Kagome.

“Inuyasha. Put the princess down. I’m sure that’s hardly comfortable for her,” the monk stated as he turned around to face them.

“Fuck no! We don’t have time to talk! We have to get her back to the lord and get you assholes off my land!”

“EXCUSE ME!?!” Kagome cried. HE WAS JUST GOING TO GIVE HER AWAY!?!? SO MUCH FOR THE FREAKING LEGEND!

“Release the princess now! If a lord is too scared to come to win her himself, he doesn’t deserve her hand!” Sango growled as her hand rose to her blade again to release it.

“The lord is uhm—trying to restabilize peace within the land between demons, spiritualists, and humans,” the monk explained as he stepped aside to they were in a circle formation—Sango in front of Inuyasha and Kagome, the kitsune on the left and the lord monk was to the right.

“Again, the one who wants Princess Kagome’s hand must win it himself,” Sango argued again.

“Why can’t this princess make her own choices?? Does she like even being here??” the man named Inuyasha asked gruffly.

“She’s safe here—” Sango began.

“She’s trapped here—” he barked back.

“ENOUGH!” Kagome shouted, earning silence from everyone. “Look, can you just—put me down?? I’m not going to run, and Sango won’t take me back to my room. You obviously know how to get there.” 

Inuyasha groaned but lowered her down, a little rougher than what she would have liked, but at least her feet were touching the ground. Kagome brushed herself off and stepped to Sango, who met her halfway. She touched her friend’s arms that grasped her own and smiled, so thankful she was safe and unharmed. 

“Princess Kagome?”

“I think we should go with them,” Kagome stated evenly.

“But—”

“They still were able to find a way to get past you without harming you,” Kagome whispered, standing close to her best friend so the others wouldn’t hear. “Besides… I think that soldier… I think he is the one even though he doesn’t know it yet.”

“But Kagome—”

“I know, I know—get out of my head the stories and everything wasn’t true but—I swear this man is different, Sango. It just—he feels different.”

“I’ll trust you with this, Kagome. But I don’t want to see you get hurt… Please, let us just proceed with caution.”

“Alright,” Kagome nodded in agreement, happy that Sango would support her in her desire to explore the world a little bit. If worse came to worse, they could escape and return to the tower… But Kagome hoped that the feeling she felt deep within her heart— _ no _ —the feeling she felt deep within her very soul—wasn’t wrong and that this man would be the one to help her. The one to love her.

Turning, Kagome faced the men before her and she smiled softly at them before striding forward to face Inuyasha directly. He was standing just before where the awning ended, and the rain was dissipating slowly, “Thank you so much for not harming Sango. She’s my best friend—my protector—she’s the only family I’ve had for the past three years. I—I’d like to bless you if I may, in thanks.”

“Uhhhh...that’s ok. Don’t need that shit.”

“It was nothing at all! Inuyasha wouldn’t harm someone without cause, go ahead Inuyasha!” The monk grinned a mischievous smirk as he smacked the soldier in the samurai gear forward closing the gap between them.

“Remove your helmet,” Kagome said softly.

“Uh…No.” The man replied.

“Inuyasha, that isn’t even yours! How did you come to receive it?” Miroku asked. Was this man not a soldier??

“When the bitch slammed her boomerang into me I crashed through the tower and armor kinda just fell on top of me,” Inuyasha explained in annoyance.

“Then why not remove it?” the monk baited.

“Leave it alone, asshole.”

“Yea, come on, Inuyasha,” the kitsune spoke. “Why are you hiding you—”

“I’m not hiding anything! I—I just like the helmet!!”

Kagome was confused. What was the man hiding? He seemed built under his red haori and hakama, and had the broadest shoulders like a God. He had the most beautiful golden eyes, so uncommon for a human, but she was even odd herself. Who was she to judge?

“Well…” Kagome cleared her throat trying to break obvious tension rising between the men before her. “Inuyasha, was it? Allow me to bestow upon you, a favor.”

“No.”

“Why not??”

“Don’t want it.”

“Take off the helmet!”

“Uh uh.”

“Now or I’m not going anywhere!!” she commanded.

Inuyasha growled and grunted very lowly, “Fine.” His hand reached up and he yanked the helmet off revealing his long flowing silver hair. His golden eyes still popped hard against his other features. But now that the samurai mask was off, she saw his fangs poking out of his lips and the fluffy ears that sat perched upon his head. 

He was beautiful… But he wasn’t human. Her heart slightly clenched at the thought he was a demon because he couldn’t be the one to save her after all. But it also didn’t stop the feelings she had when she first saw him in her tower. It didn’t stop the overwhelming feelings swirling inside her as she gazed upon his form that now glowed in the sunlight that was breaking through the dark clouds.

“You’re…” she started.

“A half-breed yea, yea,” he scoffed. “Can we get going now, your highness?”

“I didn’t—I didn’t—” Her heart was breaking at the sound of his voice. The fact he thought of himself so low because she couldn’t articulate the right words. Before he could walk past her, before he could brush her off, Kagome grabbed his haori and brought her lips to his cheek. He paused and gasped as she pulled away and locked eyes with him. “I’m sorry you thought my stupor was caused by your heritage. I was just taken by surprise. Forgive me?”

“There’s—Fuck. Come on, I ain’t mad,” he said as he walked past her. The monk approached her and bowed politely as he introduced him and the fox kit, Shippo. Sango came beside her and they began to walk towards their destination: Lord Onigumo’s castle.


	2. Is it You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang encounters some trouble on the road--can the fight off bandits while trying to protect the princess? Also, Miroku finds out more about the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for joining us in the next part! This one is a little longer but I'm sure you won't be disappointed :)

Inuyasha was shocked the moment he laid eyes on the princess. She was… stunning. Her long beautiful wavy locks that flowed down to her low back looked soft enough to touch. Her beautiful sapphire eyes glistened like the fucking ocean and her body—

No. This girl wasn’t his. But he didn’t want to frighten her with his appearance. It was likely a blessing in disguise that he crashed into the fucking tower and ended up in a dead soldier’s gear. When she demanded he take it off after everything, stating she wouldn’t leave the damn castle unless he did so, he gave up. She wasn’t gonna be into him anyway.

He heard her whispers; she thought they were private, but he couldn’t make sense out of them. Again, Inuyasha knew the words were spoken out of haste and childish amorous. No one would ever like or want to be with a half-breed.

When she stuttered, he felt crestfallen. The hanyou kept surprising himself with the wide range of emotions he was exploring in this journey. Inuyasha never had a lot of experience with people. And it was kinda fucking him over.

“I’m sorry you thought my stupor was caused by your heritage. I was just taken by surprise. Forgive me?” she said as she brushed her lips against his cheek.

There was so much he wanted to say. But he settled for mumbled words and trying to get the fuck out of the castle. He hoped the open road would help him clear his head. 

Inuyasha was fuckin’ wrong ,though. Oh, he was so wrong that he could have kicked himself. The fuckin’ wench was so cheerful, almost annoyingly so. She asked hundreds of questions to him, the bouzo, the kit—

Sighing hard, he fought her attention again. The princess was walking beside the dragon and the monk, engrossed in some stories from when the bouzu served the princess.

“Something wrong, Inuyasha?” the hime asked sweetly.

“No,” he grunted. Kagome caught up to him and stared at him intently. It made the hanyou uncomfortable with how hard she stared at him, and with such curiosity. “What?!” he found himself shouting shortly.

“You just seem like something is bothering you,” she replied without falter. 

“Just—Ugh—Not used to being around so many people,” he replied hotly as he turned from her, shoving his hands into his sleeves.

“Well, neither am I. I lived with only Sango for the past three years.”

“Try being alone for over hundreds,” he muttered.

“You’re over a hundred years old??”

“Try two-hundred and fifty.”

“What about your parents?” she asked softly as her hand brushed against his forearm. Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his skin from the contact.

“Dad died before I was born. Mother… died of old age. ‘While ago.”

She stopped and gripped his arm, making Inuyasha stop in his place. Her eyes were filled with sadness and remorse; tears pricked the corners of her blue orbs, making them look even more radiant as they sparkled like jewels. “Oh… Inuyasha, I’m so sorry. That was insensitive of me to ask. Please for—”

Inuyasha cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth for two reasons: 

  1. He didn’t need to hear that she felt sorry for him again. The hanyou didn’t need her to stir any other emotions within him.
  2. They were also now somehow completely surrounded by the lowest humans… Bandits.



Grabbing the princess around her waist, he brought her closer to his body. She gasped and began looking around wildly. Sango and the monk with the kit still upon his shoulder closed in and stood back-to-back with the hanyou.

“They must’ve snuck up on us since the rain drenched forest of scents,” Inuyasha growled angrily.

“Give me Princess Kagome,” Sango demanded. “I will protect her, just as I have for years now.”

“Yea and somehow you knocked me into the tower where she was? Pass. She’s safer right here,” Inuyasha stated, his hand firmly around the princess’s waist. 

“Please! There’s at least twenty of them—you can take them out faster alone,” Sango scoffed.

“Both of you! Now is not the time to fight,” Miroku chided as he raised his staff. “I think we should form a blockade around the princess, and Shippo can be her last line of defense.”

“I’ll protect you with my life, Princess Kagome!” Shippo declared as he leapt from Miroku’s shoulder to hers. She giggled and pulled the little kit into her arms and lovingly stroked his hair, making Inuyasha feel another strange emotion like longing… Fuck. He needed to get rid of this woman quickly.

Before he did something stupid. Like maybe subtly inhale her hair and smell her scent that was like sunflowers and honey. And think about how much he needed that in his life every day because he hadn’t realized how lonely he was until he began this little adventure to get her.

Fuck.

The bandits gathered around them, and then the leader stepped forward. Sniffing, Inuyasha realized it was a dumbass moth demon and snarled. Just their luck.

“Well, look what the dog dragged in,” the demon taunted.

“Yea, yea, you may just want to let us pass before I knock all your asses down,” Inuyasha growled as he released the hime to push her behind him.

“Now why would we do that? It looks like you brought us a little prize—a princess. What is she doing traveling with a monk, a slayer, and a dirty half-breed?” the leader chuckled as his men chimed in.

“Hey!!!” Shippo growled from Kagome’s hold.

“We are merely just passing through, my good men,” Miroku said. “She is already betrothed to Lord Onigumo. He will be most upset if she does not reach the palace in the projected amount of time.”

“You think I care for some lazy puny human lord?” the demon taunted as he raised a large axe upon his shoulder. “If you let us have her willingly, I’ll eat you quickly.”

“Dream on bastard,” Inuyasha snarled as he lunged towards the lead bandit. The others took their cue and swarmed the so-called ‘demon slayer’ who served the princess and the monk. The hanyou was distracted as his claws swiped at the demon. His eyes seemed to watch Kagome, who stood in the center of Miroku and Sango, who were busy keeping the other fuckers at bay. Inuyasha dodged every attack the demon threw. He even managed to knock the axe from his arms when his eyes wandered back to the princess to make sure he was safe. The hanyou was confused why he kept being drawn to see where she was; her green kimono… 

“Better your attention here, hanyou,” the demon taunted as his tongue flung from his mouth and struck Inuyasha in the shoulder.

“Fuck!” Inuyasha winced as he reached for his shoulder and flexed his knuckles. “Hijin Kessō!!!”

The demon retreated backward, a few of his blood blades grazing the chest of the bandit that was starting to enlarge as the demonic beast took on its true form. But Inuyasha found himself following where the princess was—and saw she was watching him in horror.

His eyes followed where the hime was gaping and noticed the fully transformed moth demon before him. “Keh. Finally showing yourself, eh? That desperate to defeat a mere ‘half-breed’?”

“ **Hardly. Just easier to wipe you out, along with the final guards** ,” the deep baritone of the moth demon resounded as he flapped his wings, shooting out strings of dust that began to melt the ground around them.

“Inuyasha!!!” the princess yelled.

He couldn’t look back, but he leapt away, up and over the moth so he could have the upper-hand on the moth’s back side; he was able to see that Sango and Miroku had been pinned down by the dust. Miroku maintained a barrier wearily as Sango held him up, protecting themselves from the particles that fell around them; if they inhaled it, they would have died, probably instantly. The only thing keeping Inuyasha conscious was the fact he was part youkai. But where was—

The fucking ass bandits had surrounded them; they had obviously been given the poison in small doses since they were immune to it as they made towards Kagome. She was wearing Sango’s mask over her face and Shippo was on her shoulder shaking like a goddamn leaf. 

“KAGOME!” Inuyasha yelled before his opponent tried to strike him down with its wing as it slowly turned its body around to face him. But Inuyasha was so was focused on the princess, so focused on getting to her before the bandits did—

He sliced through the wing using his Sankon Tessō. The moth grumbled as it fell on its fat fluffy white ass moth body. Inuyasha turned to glare at him before he heard a cry from the bandits. Turning back, scared to see the horror before him, thinking he was too late to save the hime— he was not expecting to see five of them face down on the ground as she dropped to the ground and kicked the legs out from another. She rolled back onto her backside to avoid another’s grasp and then rolled up into a poweroll, punching the guy in the face. He swore he heard the crack in his jaw where her fist landed. 

She hooked to the left and took off running towards a tree just to kick off it, throwing her body at the next one who came at her, before righting herself and slamming another fist into the final mortal man, knocking him to the ground unconscious. 

Kagome looked over and saw his likely gawking face in complete shock. She—she could fight—she—what the fuck?!

“ **Don’t take your eyes off me, half-breed** ,” the moth commanded weakly from behind him. Inuyasha turned and dodged the arm that the demon tried to drop down on him before using his Sankon Tessō again, finally silencing and stilling the large, weak ass demon.

Flicking off the blood of the demon, he raced over, slightly blurry-eyed, to Kagome. He clenched her arms and checked her over intently for any injuries, her voice ringing in his aching ears and pounding head. Fuck. There were three of her now. And she was taller. Son of a bitch. 

~~~~

“Inuyasha! Inuyasha!! Inuyasha!!!” Kagome cried as the half-demon gripped her arms, looking her over with unfocused eyes until he seemed somewhat satisfied before he collapsed to his knees. She followed him down and clung onto his biceps, trying to keep him upright. “Sango!!!!”

“Miroku! Can you purify the rest of the demon poison?” Sango questioned harshly.

“Yes; one moment,” Miroku said as he pulled a sutra from his robes with Sango’s assistance before placing it on the ground and allowing his barrier to drop so he could slam his staff onto the sutra and purify the air around them.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome cried as his body fell into hers. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Her fingers threaded through his silver locks and her face pressed between his furry soft ears that sat on his head.

“Is he alright, Kagome??” Shippo asked.

“I—I’m not sure,” Kagome confessed.

“He will be fine,” Miroku said as he knelt down harshly next to them. 

“Lord monk!” Sango dropped beside him placed her hand on his chest.

“The toxin will be burned out by his youki. We just have to give him time to heal. He was far too unfocused.”

“Why though?” Kagome questioned. Miroku just raised his eyebrow as if asking, _really_? Kagome blushed and pulled the hanyou closer and sighed into his hair.

“Shippo, you are a kitsune, correct?” Sango asked.

“Y-Yea,” he replied.

“Is there any way you can carry us away from here? Or at least take Inuyasha, and we can get the lord monk? I’ll raid their things—the bandits likely have some supplies we can use to tend to their wounds, but we shouldn’t dawdle around here,” Sango explained.

“I can definitely carry Inuyasha if you guys get Miroku!” Shippo chirped as he launched himself up into the air and transformed into a pink bubble. 

“Wow,” Kagome gasped. It had been years since she had been outside the castle walls and even before that—she lived simply in her home with her mother, brother, and grandfather. Sango too, of course. But demons were very far and few between. Her grandfather didn’t hate demons, but he was wary of them due to family history…

“Yea! I have tons of tricks I can show you later!” Shippo said proudly as Kagome and Sango helped raise Inuyasha on top of the pink balloon. They helped Miroku to stand, once Sango managed to yank some bandages off one of the passed out soldiers, and made their way down the road a little further until they found a little cave covered by foliage and trees. 

Kagome sent Sango to go with Shippo to get some water, herbs, and try to find some food. Miroku was meditating against a tree, and, in studying him, Kagome saw the drop of his bottom lip hanging down as his head slowly nodded in time with his breathing. The poor monk was likely exhausted. He and Sango had done well keeping the bandits away from her, even though she knew how to fight. She and Sango lived alone for three years. What else was one supposed to do day in and day out?

The lord monk probably didn’t fight often, and even then, likely not multiple people at once. There had been peace in the lands for a long time, and if what he said was true, he was more of a researcher, or a philosopher, than a fighter, anyway. But Sango had seemed impressed, especially when he took a blow meant for her. When the moth’s wings had spread open and the toxic mist began to fall, Sango had chucked her poison shielding mask at Kagome, and Miroku erected a barrier around them to keep themselves safe. 

Kagome had been too far away for them to get to her and shield her, especially with Miroku having taken such a heavy blow.

Sighing, the realization that she and the half-demon were actually alone for the moment hit her. The princess bit her lip and turned back to the man whose head was on her lap, stroking through his soft bangs. 

She felt guilty… He had seemed so distracted when he was fighting with the moth demon. His eyes somehow always found hers, and hers never lingered far from his, until the bandits charged her when Sango and Miroku were pinned down by the barrier. 

The concern he clearly felt for her, even though he’d likely deny it, made her heart flutter. Kagome agreed to come along on their journey back to the lord’s castle because when they first met, she was immediately drawn to him. Even though he was hanyou. And what that might mean for her future.

Inuyasha was handsome, brave, strong, and in his own way, caring and kind. Maybe she was naïve or had dreamed too much of the day when someone would rescue her from the tower she had been imprisoned in… But for some reason, things just felt so right with the hanyou that laid on her lap. 

As her fingers brushed through his silver locks, he started to regain consciousness. His ears bent as if focused on the sounds that were around him. His eyes scrunched together and he groaned as he shifted his face closer to her belly. Kagome kept her hands in his hair, still trying to stroke through it lovingly to soothe him as he awakened.

“Ka-...Princess?” She heard his voice grumble as his nose pressed into her yukata.

“You can call me Kagome, Inuyasha. Especially after you’ve rescued me not once, but twice.”

“Keh. Didn’t look like you even needed rescuing,” he huffed as he twisted back to look up into her bright blue eyes.

“Oh, yea… Sango taught me a lot. Three years is a long time to sit there and do nothing. She figured it would be useful too—and she wasn’t wrong.”

“Guess I’m just surprised. Most princesses can’t do that kind of shit.”

“Well, I’m not most princesses; I’m Kagome. Ka-Go-Me.”

“Obviously,” he scoffed.

“I’m sorry I distracted you and you had to breathe in the toxins…” Kagome apologized, though she already knew the heated response she was going to get.

“Keh. Who said I was distracted? Needed to make sure you didn’t lose your head or I won’t get my land back,” he scoffed, averting his eyes.

“Mmmm...right,” she said to placate him.

He sat up, startling her, and jumped away to sit and scowl in a corner of the cave. Kagome couldn’t help but blink in confusion when she heard the approach of Shippo and Sango. 

“We brought water!” Shippo announced proudly.

“Great! Can I see the bandages we were able to collect and I can treat Inuyasha’s wounds?”

“Keh—my body is made differently than yours. I’ll be fine,” Inuyasha stated gruffly.

“You’re a half-demon, sure. But you’re still half-human. Let me check you out!”

“Fuck no. You’re engaged to some lord.”

“Not like that!!!”

“Whatever, either way; I’m fine. Tend to the monk.”

“I will handle him,” Sango replied. “We should be able to get moving again shortly—as long as Shippo may be able to assist?”

“Of course I can!!” Shippo cheered. 

“That won’t be necessary,” Miroku groaned as he began to stir. “I should be able to pull my own weight. The rest helped.”

“Let me have a look at your injuries; we don’t want you to overexert yourself,” Sango said as she knelt down beside him, ushering Shippo to bring the water.

Kagome glared at Inuyasha and huffed, rising to her feet. Crossing her arms over her chest, she left the cave. Inuyasha was—-so infuriating. Yes, likely misunderstood, _but_! The audacity of him to even imply she would take advantage of him!!!

Ugh!!

Why was he so frustrating!?

And why did she care?? Clearly he didn’t! She was just getting in her head. True love was stupid. All it was, was just stories…

Even though, before the others came, and his head was in her lap, and they were lost in each other… It really did feel like a moment. A sacred moment that they shared. But maybe she was overthinking. Maybe this was a mistake. 

“Hey,” she heard from behind her, “shouldn’t go wanderin’ off.”

“Sorry—forgot your lands were in jeopardy if I ran off,” she spat. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere—at least not anywhere without Sango.”

“That’s not—fuck. Goddamnit, that isn’t what I—”

“What you what?”

“I just didn’t want you running into trouble again and putting yourself at risk, ok?!”

“How kind of you,” she muttered sarcastically.

“What are you all huffy for? Because I wouldn’t let you look me over??”

“That—and that you insinuated I would be taking advantage of you—or something!”

“Look!!” Inuyasha yelled, gaining her attention. She turned and faced him fully and noticed his haori and kusode were pushed open and there weren’t any marks on his skin. “I wasn’t lyin’!”

“So you weren’t,” she said as if in a trance. _Wow_. His body… It, uh… did things. His chest was completely toned, like all he did was workout. Daily. Hourly. His skin was so tan, like the sun kissed his body itself. Inuyasha was beautiful. In a mythical unbelievable kind of way. 

Had she seen a naked man before? No. But did she ever want to see another aside from Inuyasha? No… Kagome swallowed uncomfortably and averted her eyes, trying to think about things that weren’t of the hanyou before her. From Inuyasha’s very hard and unmoving standpoint, she was ‘engaged’. As a princess, she needed to behave.

“Happy now?”

“Am I what?” she asked turning back to see his clothing was replaced.

“Happy?? Like you aren’t pissed off.”

“I wouldn’t say I am happy, but I am not angry,” she amended.

“Whatever.” Kagome realized that was likely all the apology she was going to get. Sighing again, she knew she needed to let up; otherwise, it was going to be a long trip. The princess had already realized that while he was gruff, he was actually kind. And clearly, Inuyasha did care for her… to some degree.

The hanyou could deny it all he wanted but—even if he was only focused on his lands being returned to him, she knew she was merely a bargaining chip. Inuyasha could very well go rescue another princess and just pass her off as a knock-off. It wasn’t like anyone had ever seen her face—or at least not for three years. And while it was only three years, she had grown since her awkward adolescence. She was a little taller, her face was fuller, but not in an overt kind of way, just the way of maturing. Her hips was wider, her breasts were fuller, and her hair—

She originally had a very short bob cut. Her mother liked it short because it was easier to care for and…

There were other reasons as well. 

But Kagome didn’t want to think about them… Just the thoughts of her past made her sad and hurt. 

“Hey.” His soft voice made her do a double take. “I… really—I don’t have a lot of experience with… people. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She realized her own thoughts had made her mood drop further. And the inuhanyou picked up on that—and he was trying to make it better. Her face softened and she reached forward to cup his cheek in reassurance. “You didn’t upset me that much. I was just thinking of my family that I haven’t seen in some time.”

“K-Keh,” he stuttered as he blushed, but didn't pull away from her touch. “I’m sure your husband will let you see them.”

She tried to control the way her face wanted to shift into annoyance; Kagome didn’t know if she succeeded or not, but he didn’t say anything further as she dropped her hand and turned away to go back to their traveling party. 

“Everything alright?” Sango asked when they approached.

“Yes, everything is fine,” Kagome replied.

“Let’s get moving then,” Inuyasha ordered as he began to lead the way out of the foliage that surrounded them.

~~~~

Inuyasha was completely confused by his own behavior. Why the fuck he had his face pressed into the princess’s abdomen, he had no fuckin’ clue. But it was had calmed him, and hell— the fact that he even fucking slept? 

To be fair, that moth’s toxin knocked his ass out, but the fact he _remained_ asleep? It was unheard of! His entire life after his mother had died, he didn’t sleep soundly. A twig would snap because a hare landed on it wrong and he would be standing at attention. Inuyasha hadn’t gotten a full night’s rest since the monks and demons had been moved onto his lands.

Yet somehow this small woman, and her hypnotizing scent of sunflowers and honey, kept him from rousing, and even kept him docile in her arms…

Until their friends returned and he had reality slap him upside the head, reminding Inuyasha that she was a fucking hime he had to hand-deliver to some power-drunk lord.

Great. Now he felt guilty. Again. Especially when he pissed her off enough to storm off in a huff.

They had moved him a fair distance away from where they had fought the moth demon and his minions. Which was both good and bad. Good, because Inuyasha didn’t have to smell the remnants of the poison or the human blood of the mortals they beat the shit out of, and bad, because it kind of put them off-course. Obviously not enough for Inuyasha not to be able to find their way back to the main road, but still, enough to have to make their way back out of the wilderness.

When he found Kagome, the hanyou had originally refused to apologize. He just wanted her to understand why he didn’t need her to throw proprietary away on him. She was a princess. She was a mother-fucking goddamn princess. Who smelled of sunflowers and honey. Who smiled brighter than the sun. Who had the most beautiful blue eyes that shined like fucking sapphires…

Fuck.

Kagome was a dangerous girl. Literally, from the spiritualists and youkai being evicted from the lord’s lands because… Well, Inuyasha wasn’t sure why—but clearly everything that was happening in his life because of her. 

What was fucked up was, Inuyasha couldn't find himself regretting going to get her from the tower. Or regret traveling with her. Just a moment in her presence, was more than enough. Even though, the hanyou found himself unwittingly wanting more than just that...

By the time they were through the forest, the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, marking early evening. They were just about to ascend the cliffs when Inuyasha noticed Kagome’s behavior begin to shift. He wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. Kagome had fallen behind them, Shippo on her shoulder asking her if she was alright, her nodding or answering unconvincingly, and Sango, who had been speaking with Miroku, became increasingly quiet and more attentive to the princess’s anxieties. It was fucking annoying hearing how well they got along. 

How it just flowed without hitch, how Miroku didn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing, how he could make Sango blush and avert her eyes because it was ok for them to talk personally and be allowed to get close to each other—

“Uhm… Will we be there soon?” Kagome questioned from the back.

“Not ‘til tomorrow afternoon—maybe evening,” Inuyasha informed as he leapt up to a thin trail above them humans to stroll, looking around to make sure there weren’t any threats that were hiding from his sense of smell.

“Uh—Uhm—I think we should stop for the night,” Kagome voiced, the tremor of fear present.

“Why?” he asked as he continued on his way, jumping back down to be ahead on everyone. “We’ll make better time if we keep moving. We all got to rest earlier because of the bandits.”

“Inuyasha, please—”

“No—we keep moving,” Inuyasha argued.

“Inu—”

“No!”

“She said,” Sango said, suddenly standing before him menacingly, hand on her boomerang like she was going to swing down and strike him, like the long day of harmony and teamwork never even happened, “we should stop for the night.”

Inuyasha froze. He clearly missed something. But with Sango’s sudden fierceness, Kagome’s growing worries, and now Miroku’s confusion as well as his own, the hanyou knew something was going on.

“What the fuck am I missing?”

“We need to stop for the night—that’s all,” Sango stated evenly.

“Why?”

“Stop asking dumb questions; the princess is tired. What more of an answer do you need other than that?”

“Uhm—I can just carry her,” Inuyasha tried again. What the fuck was happening?

“I said—” Sango started before Kagome was suddenly up in his face, the dazzling entrancining blue eyes pouring into his amber hues like she was the ocean feeding itself on the sands of a beach.

“Either we stop, or Sango will take me back to the shower,” Kagome quietly countered.

“What—”

“I said—either we stop, or we leave.” Her eyes didn’t bat, but her heart was rapidly beating like the feet of a rabbit racing to outrun a wolf. 

Inuyasha had to commend her courage—most human women wouldn’t stand up to him, let alone be in his space. Clearly, for whatever reason, they needed to stop.

“Ya gonna tell me why?”

“I am tired,” she replied without flinching. The hanyou couldn’t tell if she was lying with how much fear filled her.

“Why don’t we stop for the night? Rest up? Eat and relax? Exchange stories?” Miroku tried to ease the growing tension again.

“Whatever. Fine,” Inuyasha relented. “Follow me.” He led the way over to a cliff side and there was a cave opening if they wanted to be covered. Humans and comforts. Weird. He had a home, but it was left to him by his mother. It wasn’t essential. But it was something she left him. Just like his haori.

“Perfect,” he heard Kagome sigh. Turning his head, he saw her looking around curiously before she locked eyes on a fallen old tree. Her blush colored lips quirked up and she quickly made her way over to the log and ripped off a good section of the bark, leaving Inuyasha gaping. “Well, I’m tired—goodnight!”

“Wait! Kagome!” Shippo cried.

“Do you not want to eat? It will likely rejuvenate you,” Miroku offered.

“Nope! Just want to sleep!” Kagome announced making her way into the low rise cave.

Sango followed briskly behind Kagome, making Inuyasha even more curious. “Sango? Won’t you join us for dinner? I’m sure you must be hungry,” Miroku asked in a concerned, but also hopeful tone.

“I will be fine. But thank you,” Sango said sadly.

“Kagome is safe, Sango,” Miroku tried again.

“I know she is. But I will be resting with her,” Sango sternly replied.

“Sango—”

“I said—goodnight,” Sango hissed as she swiftly followed Kagome into the mouth of the cave and the wooden makeshift door was shoved over the opening.

“Kagome! Please! I wanted to spend more time with you!” Shippo cried.

“Sorry, Shippo,” she said through the bark, “tomorrow we will! I promise!”

“But Kagome—”

“No, Shippo. Hang out with Miroku for me,” Sango said kindly.

The three men were confused by the exchange that just happened, but decided to give up; they clearly weren’t going to get any answers from the women that evening. They caught two rabbits, roasted them over the fire, and began to eat. Miroku knocked on the door, trying to get Kagome and Sango to open it, but again, he was turned away. Once the sun dipped down, there was complete silence from inside the closed-off cave. 

Inuyasha sniffed, making sure they hadn’t actually made a run for it, but didn’t smell anything indicating they were gone. At least, there was no trail that led away from the cave and their scent was permeated in the air around them…

Sunflowers and honey.

Inuyasha leaned back on the fallen log to gaze at the stars. Shippo joined him and also looked up at the sky when Miroku came to sit with them.,“It seems the girls are truly asleep. I’m sure this was the most action they have seen in awhile.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha replied.

“That is true… Kagome seemed upset. Maybe she was hurt that she was slowing us down?” Shippo questioned.

“Who knows,” Inuyasha scoffed. “I’m just gonna be glad when this is all over.”

“Why is that, Inuyasha?” Miroku asked.

“Ready to be back in my lands. Alone.”

“But you’ve made friends; you're not alone anymore. Isn’t that better?” Shippo questioned in curiosity.

“Don’t notice a difference,” Inuyasha replied, lying through his teeth.

“Why are you choosing to be alone?” Miroku bated.

“I chose nothing. That was how it always was and always will be.”

“Times are different now, my friend,” Miroku smiled as he clasped Inuyasha’s shoulder.

“Don’t matter. I’m hanyou. Times don’t change that much.”

“There are other hanyou now, too,” Shippo added.

“And they’re all just magically accepted!” Inuyasha spat.

“They aren’t tarred and feathered, if that’s what you’re implying,” Miroku said.

“So not all rainbows and butterflies like you're trying to spew?” Inuyasha growled.

“Of course not; even humans and demons don’t completely coexist either,” Miroku argued.

“But we do for the most part get along,” Shippo cooed.

“Pass. I’m fine on my own,” Inuyasha stated again in finality.

“Why choose a life of loneliness? It even seems like the princess would object to that kind of lifestyle,” Miroku hummed as Inuyasha saw through his peripherals that the monk had taken a glance towards the cave where both women slept.

“She ain’t mine.”

“She could be, though.”

“Why don’t you worry about your own love life.”

“Oh and I am; I have a feeling if Kagome were to leave, Sango would as well.”

“Not my problem.”

“Why are you being so uncaring? Why put on such an act?”

“Yea—” Shippo chimed in, “why act like you like being so alone and stuff? It looks like you really do care for the princess and she cares for you too—”

“JUST SHUT UP ALRIGHT?! DROP IT!” Inuyasha shouted, louder than he probably should have. But there was no stirring from the cave. Just silence and stillness. “No one will ever love a half-breed. So just fucking drop it. Kagome’s best interest is marrying a human lord, and that’s it. End of fucking story.” End of his fucking adventure.

Miroku and Shippo grew quiet, obviously unsure how to respond to his harsh words. Miroku finally sighed and redirected the conversation, “So… when you look at the sky, what do you see?”

“I see my Papa,” Shippo said wistfully.

“I see other beings… With how large the world is, just by studying the maps, I feel like we can’t be the only ones out here,” Miroku imparted.

“Whatever. Just lights in the sky,” Inuyasha finally added to the conversation. The three of them talked late into the night, until Miroku finally dozed off. Shippo snuggled into him and Inuyasha turned his head, now that he wasn’t being watched, to look at the cave door. It was eerily silent, but maybe they really were just tired. For them, it was a different day compared to them being trapped in a tower for three years…

Why had they been caught up in there? Why hadn’t they left? Both Kagome and Sango seemed fairly capable of leaving… It couldn’t be because of the true love crap Kagome was spewing. That shit wasn’t real. Pffft, even if it was, he’d never find it.

Kagome could never…—

Why the fuck was he even thinking like that?!?! It wasn’t possible! She was engaged! He hadn’t kidnapped her; the princess had come willingly and—and—when they separated, his life would go back to normal.

_Everyone’s_ lives would go back to normal.

What choice did Inuyasha have rather than to keep going? Closing his eyes, the hanyou rested, but he subconsciously kept his ears trained on the cave—waiting to hear any form of noise from Kagome…

Why was it so easy for him to feel like he could be open with her? Sango was there; it wasn’t like he was in love with any woman who crossed his presence or challenged him. Kagome was just…

Nice. Kind. Caring. Soft. Strong. Beautiful…

Stunning.

And she looked at him without hate, without cringing, without remorse, without anger… Kagome saw him as a man. But Inuyasha needed to tread carefully… 

He refused to be hurt.

~~~~

Kagome and Sango emerged just after morning’s light. They saw the three men they were traveling with were out cold. Kagome urged Sango to remain with them and stoke the fire as she went and gathered ingredients for breakfast.

Once eggs were cooking, and a rabbit was skinned and fully roasted by the open flames, Inuyasha was stirring. His amber hues caught hers and she smiled. “Good morning.”

“What’s that?” he groaned as he sat up.

“Breakfast! We figured since you guys let us rest so wonderfully, we would get breakfast up and ready,” Kagome explained as she brought over a smoothed stone plate to him.

“That was—uh—you didn’t—”

“Nonsense. Once we finish eating, we can get moving. I’m sorry I delayed our travels,” Kagome apologized.

“Uh… that’s not—It’s fine. We clearly all needed rest.” Inuyasha flushed as he started eating. 

His bashfulness was truly endearing—especially when it was so fully cloaked with gruffness. Kagome hadn’t really interacted with men, aside from her grandfather before. She had only heard tales of lords and princes slaying evil youkai, capturing the hearts of princesses, and them all living happily ever after. When she became of age, everything changed, though. Her hair was cut short and she was hidden away with Sango…

And then she turned fifteen and Sango had been ordered to take her away…

Seeing Inuyasha’s golden eyes lock with hers, she shook off the melancholy that began to set in and urged him to eat. Sango woke Miroku and offered him and Shippo breakfast as well, and they all ate the small meal together.

Once they were done, they began to make their journey onward. 

Inuyasha stayed close to Kagome this time. Which made her immensely happy. He didn’t have a lot to say, but he humored her in some questions like where he lived, who he grew up with, and she returned by telling him about herself… at least the parts that she could. They journeyed for a better part of the day, hiking up and down the mountains, crossing the plains of Musashi, making their way through forests, and even crossing rivers. Kagome had happily climbed aboard Inuyasha’s back while Shippo hoisted Miroku and Sango on his.

After the third river, Inuyasha almost hesitated in putting her down, and Kagome didn’t correct his behavior… She honestly wanted to soak in the contact with him. The princess loved his woodsy scent that was seeped into his haori, the way its coarse texture brushed against her face when she leaned her cheek against it, and—

Kagome was getting caught up again. In dreams. In fantasies… Inuyasha clearly was on a mission, and she wasn’t it.

“So… why the fuck were you locked up?” Inuyasha asked, obviously having noticed Sango was preoccupied with Miroku and Shippo. Miroku had picked her some flowers and explained to her about different parts of the world and how he would love to explore them.

The question startled her; but Kagome should have seen it coming. Of course he would want to know all of that. 

“Well… my mother—and I guess her mother— every woman in my family I guess has had to do that when they turned fifteen.” There. That wasn’t a lie. Though her heart did race from anxiety of revealing too much.

“Why though? Seems barbaric.”

“I’m not my family’s head, so I don’t know…”

“You didn’t deserve to be alone for that long,” he growled—in which she hoped was a possessive protective way…

“Thank you—but I had Sango. She’s my best friend—and—” She stopped talking when she almost let her words run away with her thoughts.

“And—?” He turned to face her, stopping his pace in the process, making her own steps falter. His bright amber eyes looked at her like there was no one else in the world. The way his voice almost trembled, with hope? Gods. It made her want to pray she wasn’t misreading things. At all. 

“I… I—...” His gaze melted her. She wanted more than anything just to throw propriety away and kiss him and suffer whatever consequences came from letting herself fall so heavily and deeply for him—because of whatever pull that was drawing them together, Kagome didn’t want to fight them anymore—

“Kagome!” Sango called in a rush, breaking the fragile moment like it was the thin paper on a shoji door, “It’s almost sunset—we should get you to bed!”

“Oh,” Kagome gasped, looking to see the sun had truly dipped low. “Oh no.”

“Kagome?” Inuyasha whispered brokenly. She turned back to face him and smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, is there any way we can stop for the night?”

“The kingdom—it’s uh... It’s just… over there,” he informed her uncomfortably.

“One more night? For… us?” Kagome requested hopefully. For multiple reasons. The only one he needed to know was that she needed one more day—one more day with him.

“U-Uh… sure. That’s fine.”

“Kagome, there’s a hut not too far from here!” Sango yelled from ahead. How had she moved that quickly? 

Miroku came to stand beside them and Kagome dashed ahead to join Sango and thanked her properly before turning back to Inuyasha, “Thank you, Inuyasha. Goodnight.”

“G-Goodnight…” he replied as Kagome took Sango’s hand and swiftly entered the hut and barred the door.

~~~~

Inuyasha paced outside the hut. They had a moment. They had a fucking moment. They did. He couldn’t deny it. Neither could she. Maybe he could convince her to stay. Maybe he could free the youkai and spiritualists another way. Kagome was… special.

She got him to open up. 

Maybe it was because Miroku and Shippo had talked to him last night.

Maybe it was because Kagome shared about her life.

Maybe it was her smile that got to him…

But Kagome _was_ special. And he didn’t want to let her go. When he was fairly sure Miroku and Shippo were asleep, he rose to gather some flowers and some pelts. Maybe he could woo her. Maybe Inuyasha actually stood a chance after all.

He just didn’t want the monk or the runt to see him try and fail… What if Kagome was just naturally that kind? When they first started their journey she made such casual conversation with everyone. It wasn’t…

The bandits changed things between them. Because Inuyasha had allowed himself to be distracted by her. His eyes never wavered from the princess until the hanyou had known, she was safe. 

Then she cared for him. Willingly. Unprompted. And even was mad and stood up against him, a half-breed, and stormed off more or less _demanding_ an apology! From _him_! 

Which he did!! Inuyasha actually apologized because for some weird convoluted reason, he felt guilty. He didn’t want Kagome. He didn’t want Kagome sad. Inuyasha wanted Kagome to smile her radiant grin and look at him like he was the only man in the world.

Fuck.

He was so fucking screwed. How a woman who was almost a foot shorter than him had this much pull over _him_? He’d never know. And honestly, Inuyasha actually kinda liked it...

~~~~

With Inuyasha gone, and with him, his usual bluster about being alone and uncaring, Miroku took his chance. Shippo was asleep by the fire and the monk peeled himself off the forest floor and made his way to the hut where the women were resting.

Such an opportunity couldn’t be wasted. And while Inuyasha wasn’t great with words, Miroku was. He had always found himself charming; his charisma was the thing that landed him in the palace with the hime before she married and passed. 

Once he got to his feet, he walked over to the shelter and knocked on the firmly closed door softly, so as not to wake Shippo or even tentatively disturb the women in the off chance they were already asleep.

There was no response. Not even a whisper. Concerned, as this was the second night now that there was no sound of movement or life, Miroku pushed open the door and he felt an instant wave of cleansing hit him. What was that? Looking around the dark hut—he was shocked when he saw Sango standing before him.

“Sango?”

“You need to leave,” she pleaded quickly, too quickly. Sango, the dragon, his demon slayer—she never spoke so quickly in worry, in fear.

“What is wrong? Where is Kagome?”

“Miroku—please—”

“Sango, tell me what is wrong—”

“Miroku! Now!” Sango cried, actual tears in the corners of her eyes.

Before Miroku could respond, there was something between them—it moved so fast that he didn’t even blink before a tight grip was wrapped around his throat, claws pricking his skin as he was shoved harshly against the wall of the shelter.

“Ugh!” he groaned. Dammit! A demon had gotten in?? Immediately he looked to Sango to make sure she wasn’t outnumbered or in danger—but her face was scared and panicked, locked directly on the being that was grabbing his throat like it was made of water.

“Kagome! Stop! He is a friend!!”

... _Kagome_...?

“You told him to leave and he didn’t! He is a threat!”

... _Kagome_?

“He isn’t a threat! I promise! He’s a friend—more than! Kagome, please!!” Sango sobbed.

Kagome snarled at him and he finally peeled his eyes away from Sango and took her in… Her eyes were sharp, an aquamarine color that pierced through the darkness of the hut surrounded by the glow and red like blood. She had dark navy stripes on her cheeks and her black unruly mane that flowed around her by the force of her youki—

Youki…?

—there were triangular perked up ears on the top of her head, barely hidden by the force of her hair?? She was… a _demon_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you know Kagome's secret!!!!! Stayed tuned to find why she hides it and why it happens! :)


	3. Hallelujah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inuyasha and Kagome have a misunderstanding. Inuyasha goes after Kagome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst. This chapter is really really angsty and I apologize. But! It does end on a lighter note!

Miroku’s mind remained calm, even though his body was tensing under the intense vice-like grip on his throat. Rationally, Miroku knew he needed to try and stay calm, otherwise Kagome would see him as a bigger threat.

Though by the tightness of her hand, he wasn’t sure if that train of thought was gonna work.

“Please! Kagome! Please! Let him go!” Sango pleaded, grabbing her outstretched arm. Kagome snarled before Sango whimpered-- his lovely Sango was whimpering-- “Please! I love him! Let him go!!”

Kagome's eyes flashed red briefly before she turned to look at Sango, as if studying her. It took a mere moment, but it felt like an eternity, until Kagome dropped Miroku. 

He wheezed and landed on his ass, hunched over with his back slightly against the wall. Sango knelt down to him and took him into her arms. Honestly, Miroku could die happily and without regrets. Not only was the woman of his dreams holding him, but she had just confessed her feelings for him. Not in the most orthodox way, but he also wasn’t the more orthodox monk either.

“Are you okay?? I’m so sorry--she didn’t mean it,” Sango apologized tearfully.

“How…” he gasped out before coughing. Looking up, he saw a very foreboding demon. Her claws were long, her hair was still very unruly and drifting about her back and shoulders--how had they been unable to sense her from just outside??

“I’m sure you have questions,” Sango replied, helping him sit up fully.

“You could say that,” he replied, trying to break the tension with a smile.

“Kagome? Can you grab him some water?”

Kagome’s eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to pierce his soul with daggers, trying to fill his heart of fear--sadly it was working. This was not the Kagome they traveled with during the day--this Kagome was new to them and highly dangerous.

She turned away and bounced over to the other side of the hut and grabbed a bucket before bringing it over to Sango’s side. Sango smiled at her friend, stroked her long ebony mane, and even caught her ear in a loving caress. Kagome purred, her eyes dropping closed before they snapped back open and glared harshly at Miroku.

“Kagome, he’s fine. I promise,” Sango soothed as said girl hissed before she crouched and sat back on her haunches, gazing at Miroku in great study. “Here, drink this.”

“Thank you, Sango.”

“As you can see… this is why we needed to find shelter at night.”

“Why is it just a night?”

“It all started two hundred years ago… Kagome’s ancestor, Kikyo, and another hime named Tsubaki were… they were both placed in the manor of the Shogun. The Lord thought it would be a fun game. Let them battle and fight to be his wife.”

“That’s quite barbaric. I gather Kikyo did not win?” 

“It was… My family has served the Higurashis for centuries. My ancestor, Midoriko, was also there. On the contrary, Kikyo won. Tsubaki was so enraged that she cast a curse, according to my ancestor. Since Tsubaki wasn’t about to fully curse Kikyo, as she was the Lady of the Shogun, she cursed her descendants. Tsubaki was banished and never seen again. Midoriko was able to recount the whole tale to us, in case…”

“In case of what?” Miroku asked, shooting a quick glance to Kagome, who was still staring at him, as if daring him to breathe incorrectly.

“In case the curse was real. Since it hadn’t affected Kikyo, they weren’t sure it would really affect her children or their children’s children. As you can see, it worked. And now, Kagome becomes a cat demon.”

“Why can’t she…” He swallowed, eyeing his now-youkai friend. Miroku was nervous, but wanted to trust that Sango would have pushed him outside if he truly was in danger. 

“Because Kagome was born human, the youki that she was cursed with consumes her mind at night. Sunset is when it takes over her body. If she had been born a youkai, even a hanyou--she would be able to get used to the swirl of energy.”

“How did the family hide this secret for centuries?”

“Well, the curse only enacts when they become of age. When Kagome turned fifteen, she transformed and…”

“And?”

“One of the guards was severely injured when he tried to stop her. We were able to seal her in her bedroom… but… it was decided, just like the rest of her ancestors before her, she would be taken to the tower. I went with her.”

“She… doesn’t see you as a threat?”

“No. She recognizes family, friends… Don’t take it personally. You’re newer and when I asked you to leave, my safety, in her mind, was perceived to be at a risk.”

“Why did you want me to leave?”

“Is that not clear?” Sango asked with a hint of sarcasm. At least she was back to her zealous self, and not terrified for him.

“Not truly, if I am being honest. You said she recognizes friends.”

“Yes, well, Inuyasha is pretty set on giving her to Onigumo, the lord who is banishing humans who can use spiritual powers and youkai to Inuyasha’s lands, and the last thing he needs to to learn about this little secret.”   
  


“This may actually fix that.”

“How do you mean?” Sango asked as she turned back to see Kagome. Kagome’s ears twitched as her eyes locked with Sango and she purred.

“While I’ve gotten a kick out of watching Inuyasha be the loner and freak out over people hanging out in his lands, I also have had the pleasure of accompanying him through the plains of Musashi to meet with the new lord, meeting you, and seeing him connect with Lady Kagome in a way that I honestly wasn’t sure he was capable of? I think this trip has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

“Sango... I hope you do know, your feelings aren’t unrequited.”

“I do; or rather, I suspected as much,” she replied evenly with a smile. “Why else would you try and protect someone you didn’t know? Or humor them with wild tales of adventure and mystery?”

“Good. I hope this trip was also one of your best?”

“Thus far,” Sango admitted, turning back to Kagome and brushing her ear affectionately. “The way you speak of the world, it makes me feel like I was there with you. Something I… I wouldn’t mind trying. As long as Kagome is happy and taken care of, I would love to try those things that you described.”

“All I require is the presence of a beautiful woman who wants to explore as much as I do.”

“That sounds nice,” Sango smiled.

“How were you able to clock the youki?”

“Kagome has spiritual powers, but they are untrained. We had sutras we used at night in her room to keep her contained; all Kagome had to do was touch them to activate the reiki shield. It keeps her youki contained to a small area, and unless you are right up next to the shield, more or less sound proof, even to demonic ears.”

“How very interesting… It explains how she was uncertain Inuyasha was hanyou when they first met as well.”

“I think there was more to it than just that,” Sango hinted.

“Indeed. She really likes you,” Miroku commented as he glanced at Kagome’s happy and calm demeanor.

“We’re like sisters; the first couple of nights were hard when we left, but she has gotten used to it--the change, I mean. I admit--I felt sorry for anyone who tried to get her from the towers at night. What happened to them… Compared to how I handled things? What she did was brutal.”

“Does she remember things in this form?”

“Yes. You’ll likely receive a very guilt-filled apology tomorrow.”

Miroku looked over to Kagome, who swiftly turned back to him, her face hardened and dangerous. “You don’t need to apologize. Just… Can you tell Inuyasha how you truly feel? I think that will serve as apology enough.”

“Why,” Kagome questioned, surprising him with her coherence after the brief words they shared earlier followed by eerie heavy silence.

“He truly loves you. It’s rather sad to watch him struggle with his feelings.” 

Kagome seemed somewhat upset by the statement as her bright cyan eyes shifted downward. “No one could love such a monster.”

“Now Lady Kagome--”

“No… I--I… I made a mistake.”

“A mistake?” Miroku echoed.

“Miroku--” Sango tried.

“Lady Kagome, being with Inuyasha wouldn’t be a--”

~~~~

“ _ He truly loves you. It’s rather sad to watch him struggle with his feelings, _ ” the monk said earnestly. 

“ _ No one could love such a monster _ ,” Kagome replied in a deep melancholy voice.

“ _ Now Lady Kagome- _ -” Miroku tried

“ _ No… I--I… I made a mistake _ ,” Kagome replied in a heavy stutter.

“ _ A mistake? _ ” Miroku echoed.

“ _ Miroku-- _ ” Sango tried.

“ _ Lady Kagome, being with Inuyasha wouldn’t be a-- _ ” Inuyasha refused to hear more. He leapt away and found himself running into the night. Fuck Shippo. Fuck Miroku. Fuck Sango. Fuck…

How? How had he been so wrong?

He--He really thought… He really thought Kagome accepted him. She seemed like she wanted more. They had shared a moment? Hadn’t they?

They almost--

No. No. He had allowed himself to get his hopes up. For whatever fucking reason. Inuyasha was born alone, and raised alone. That’s how it should have continued. He should have always been alone.

The monk and the kitsune just tricked him like the other youkai and humans he had come across in his long life. There would never be any acceptance for what he was--a hanyou. A half-breed. A monster.

His mother was a princess. His father was an inuyoukai. Their love was forbidden. His birth was cursed. It had been an accident, technically. 

They had met under rare circumstances and began their affair. When he was born, his mother’s betrothed, Takemaru, tried to kill them. His father stayed behind, already gravely wounded from a battle with another powerful daiyoukai who wanted to end Inuyasha’s life before he was born, and perished in the great fire.

His mother retreated to the lands Inuyasha owned, left by his father to them, and protected by his ass-hole half-brother who disappeared after his mother passed. Leaving Inuyasha to defend himself, alone. 

Whatever.

Cursed and left for dead. Abandoned and forgotten.

Kagome’s words echoed through his mind as he directed his restless feet towards Onigumo’s palace. “ _ No one could ever love such a monster _ .”

Fine then. He’d tell Onigumo to go fetch his woman. Then demand the lord order everyone off his lands.

Inuyasha reminded himself of what he had said at the very beginning of this journey: he was better off alone. He hadn't needed anyone's love or care before. He’d been fine after his mother died. Not fine, but he survived. Just as his mother wanted.

The princess has been a chance at nothing. She was his ticket to get his lands back. The hanyou has been foolish to let himself dream of more. Of marrying her. Of mating with her. Of her bearing his mark. Of her bearing his pups. Of them growing older as time ran past them.

No. No. That was merely all miscalculations. No. Inuyasha was just a fuckin’ monster. Even Kagome… Even Kagome, the woman who he had almost served up his heart to on a silver platter, thought he was a fuckin’ monster….

~~~~

Sango and Miroku finally fell into a deep sleep within the hut. While they rested, Kagome debated for the rest of the night in her hyper-aware state her relationship with Inuyasha. 

He was a hanyou. Her family, her female ancestors, had always married humans. Even though the curse took hold at night, and they became demons, a human lord always found them and married them before the next evening’s curse could take effect. It wasn’t until they had a baby girl and they hit the age of maturity the curse manifested, and they learned the dreaded secret the Higurashis had hidden for centuries.

But...her heart… It belonged to Inuyasha. His gruff and harsh demeanor that masked a wounded puppy. His kindness and care when he finally let his guard down around her. His beautiful long silver mane that flowed in the wind like an endless river, and his eyes that could pierce through her soul like daggers, making her yearn and need for him to hold and weak body for warmth, comfort, and care.

In the demonic form she was in, her feelings almost felt even more increased. It was almost instinctual, the desire she held for him. 

Kagome debated for awhile and finally stood up, and decided Miroku and Sango were right. If anyone could accept her, for who she was at night, for what she had done--it would be Inuyasha.

She stepped lightly towards the door and waved off the sutra, stepping outside through the thin purification field. It shocked the princess, but not in a harmful way. The barrier, afterall, was infused with her untrained reiki. 

Looking around the camp, Kagome only saw Shippo sleeping by the fire. 

“Inuyasha?” she called out, her cyan eyes searching the area, her ears flicking to see if they could pick up sounds of the hanyou. The princess sniffed the air rapidly, trying to scent out Inuyasha only to smell the morning dew--

Wait--Morning dew?

Turning towards the horizon, she saw the sun peaking over the horizon. It was a breath of fresh air that hit her hard, almost taking the air straight from her lungs. The transformed hanyou’s features began to revert, her triangular ears shifted back down to the sides of her head, her fangs receded with her claws and facial markings, and her eyes unfocused, back to her regular sapphire sparkling blue.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome called again, softer in hesitation. Walking towards where her line of vision ended, she watched as he emerged from the tall grass and stalked past her without saying a word.

“Inuyasha!” she cried again, trying to get his attention.

“I heard ya,” he said as if it didn’t even phase him; her voice was laced with hurt.

“What--What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.”

“Inuyasha--wait--there’s something that I--”

“Don’t fuckin’ bother.” His words pierced through her--like he actually had stabbed her in the heart.

“What?” Kagome breathed.

“I heard everything you said last night.”

“You--You did?” Kagome looked at Inuyasha’s back as he still wouldn’t face her and her throat was quivering. The hanyou and heard--he heard about her secret and he--he

“Every fuckin’ word: ‘No one could love ever love such a monster.’”

“But… I thought… I thought that you would… understand…” Kagome had to take deep breaths between her words. The tears threatened to fall and she was barely able to breath past the lump that formed within her air-way. 

“Sure do. That’s why I brought him,” Inuyasha gestured towards the tall greenery of which he had skulked from. There stood multiple men and a couple of horses. Kagome gasped and she heard the door of the hut swing open with the murmurs from Sango and Miroku asking what was going on. Shippo awoke and cried out. The princess briefly gazed backwards to see him scurry over to Miroku leaping into his arms for safety. Inuyasha remained frighteningly still, standing so she couldn’t see his face or his reactions.

“Hello, Princess Kagome,” one of the men on the horses greeted her, startling Kagome from her observations. 

“H-Hello,” she stuttered. Sango immediately joined her side, gripping her weapon tightly in her grasp.

“Ah, so you must be the fabled ‘dragon’ we heard so much about. Thank you for guarding my bride-to-be with your life.”

“I did it without knowledge of your engagement,” Sango politely shot back. Kagome brushed her arm against hers, as it trembled wildly from the heartbreaking conversation between her and Inuyasha.

The lord dismounted his horse and took a few steps towards the princess and Sango stood firmly, even tensing a little as if she was ready to swing her weapon. Kagome bit her lip and clutched her arm tighter, trying to veer her off course. The lord hadn’t done anything wrong… Inuyasha was the one who--

“My dear princess, if you would do me the honor of becoming my bride, I shall bestow upon you and your family treasures, gifts, and honor,” the lord spoke as he knelt down on one knee, gripping her left hand within his. Kagome found herself shivering, but not from any emotion besides revulsion. Maybe that was harsh, but his touch couldn’t even compare to the silver-haired hanyou behind her.

“I…” Kagome turned back to face Inuyasha, looking for anything. Anything. Just… something! He could stop this! He could--he was a half-demon! How could he not accept her??

Did he truly only see her as beautiful by day?? Could he really not accept her as a hanyou--a demon by night--just like him??

His body was still averted and his eyes were cast down. Inuyasha glaring at the ground in disgust from… from her.

He--He couldn’t love her… She was a monster. Even the man she thought--the man she fell for--in the golden amber hues of the man she had wanted to spend her life with, the man she had overlooked propriety for, the man she had felt an undeniable pull towards--

Kagome could barely hold back the sob that threatened to escape her mouth. Her stomach turned in agony as the hanyou looked down upon her with such disgrace…

She was unloved.

Her charming prince would never come.

True love was a fairy-tale.

This was real life.

And Kagome would have to marry to be normal… Her heart would stay with Inuyasha forever, there, upon the grassy knoll of which he figuratively ripped it out of her chest and stomped on it.

“Yes… I will…” her hushed words left her as tears dripped down her face in defeat. The fact the lord looked beyond pleased meant he thought Kagome was overwhelmed in happiness, when all she felt was hollow.

~~~~

Inuyasha had gotten Onigumo. When he saw Kagome standing just beyond the grass he had emerged from, calling out to him, a radiant smile on her face, he almost broke. But her words echoed through his mind again.

She didn’t love him.

He was a monster.

His heavy heart brought down his excitement to smell her again--her beautiful sunflower and honey scent. No. Kagome wasn’t his. She was a princess. He was a hanyou who should never have been born. And she whole-heartedly agreed.

Inuyasha refused to watch as Onigumo proposed to her. The scent of her tears, no doubt from happiness that he was saving her from the horrendous beast that the hanyou was. When she accepted, it broke him further. If Inuyasha was made of stone, part of him would have crumbled to the floor.

“Then let us go, princess. We have a wedding to plan,” Onigumo coaxed.

“Princess Kagome--” Sango started.

“Your services are no longer required,” the lord cut in.

“What?!” Kagome gasped. It took everything for Inuyasha to not turn around.

“She has served her purpose. Also, she allowed a dirty hanyou to take you. Can’t have a failure such as her within my castle walls.”

“Sango is not a failure!” Kagome yelled.

“I will not leave Princess Kagome’s side!!” Sango argued.

“If you could not tell, I do not employ women,” Onigumo chuckled with his soldiers. “Besides, we will not require your assistance as Kagome will be my bride in all the ways that count. I have no room for you in the palace. You are free to return to the slayer’s village.”

“But--”

“Sango…” Kagome said softly. The gentleness of her tone made him pause and he looked up from the ground he hadn’t been really staring at back towards them. The princess had taken Sango’s hands within her own and she looked pleadingly into her eyes. “Go and be happy with Lord Miroku. You guys talked about traveling the world together? Do it… please. For me.”

Sango gazed back at her, fighting her thoughts, as Inuyasha watched her body twitch and tremble. It seemed she finally reached a decision when Sango reached out and wrapped Kagome in a tight fierce hug. Kagome deflated and embraced her back, the scent of her tears still permeating the air.

After a moment, Miroku crossed over to them, Shippo perched on his shoulder, and placed his hands on Sango’s shoulders. She turned to him and nodded before stepping away from the princess with the monk and fox kit.

“You’ll be safe?” Sango asked.

“Of course,” Kagome replied.

“Princess, we should be going if we are to begin planning our wedding for the next moon.”

“WAIT!” Kagome pleaded, her eyes wide and panicked. Inuyasha hopes suddenly were reignited. Was she rethinking everything? The idea of the wedding actually made her realize that wasn’t what Kagome actually wanted? Could she maybe… could Kagome want him?

“What is wrong, my princess?” Onigumo asked.

“Wh--Why wait??” she asked. “We should just be married tonight--before the sun sets.”

Inuyasha didn’t want to hear anymore. His ears dipped into his skull and he turned away. He  was ready to go home and forget everything that happened the past three days. Fuck this shit. He didn't need to hear the moment he lost her forever. Not that he ever even had her. 

She was never his. And she never would be. No matter how much he wanted her to be. How much he wanted to wake up next to her every day for the rest of his life. Hear her sweet laughter. See her brilliant smile…

Be enveloped in her rich warm scent of sunflowers and honey. Maybe even scent a sweet and tart ginger roll off of her waves like the ocean, as she gazed up at him with her deep blue eyes, sparkling, her face glistening in a sheer layer of sweat.

But that image was gone, for it would never be. Everything that happened was a well-concocted dream by his subconscious in order to escape the loneliness Inuyasha hadn’t even noticed he was drowning in. The hanyou was a fool. A deranged disillusioned fool who had to learn that he was out of his mind the wrong way; Inuyasha had made himself be vulnerable, only to have his heart taken from his chest and crystallized to have it kept by the beautiful princess who would never return his feelings.

Because he was a monster.

The dark chuckle broke through Inuyasha’s painful thought. “Impatient, are we? Very well, my princess. I couldn’t be more pleased to hear about your eagerness.”

“Uhm, I’d like to say goodbye to Inuyasha--”

“He doesn’t need any further consult. His lands have been cleansed and are now returned to him. The hanyou completed his emotionless task. Demons, monsters, creatures, however you want to describe those _ things _ , they don’t have feelings; they are just things,” the lord sneered.

“I… I--”

“Come now princess,” Onigumo summoned. Someone must’ve helped Kagome onto the horse as he heard trotting turning around and Sango’s quiet cry of the princess’s name.

“Goodbye… Inuyasha…” Kagome said quietly enough that it was a whisper in his ears, even as the sounds of horses disappeared.

Suddenly Sango was in Inuyasha’s space, glaring angrily at him with tears embedded in the corners of her eyes, “This is all your fault.”

“Keh. Whatever,” Inuyasha scoffed without heat. Honestly, he didn’t have it in him.

“You don’t even feel any remorse?!?!” Sango shouted.

“Why the fuck would I?” Inuyasha spat, making Sango recoil and hardened her antagonizing stare.

“Fuck you, Inuyasha!” Sango yelled as she stormed off, brushing past him hotly, leaving him with just Miroku and Shippo.

“I don’t understand, my friend…” Miroku started.

“Yea, whatever. It’s better this way,” Inuyasha stated through gritted teeth.

“How is this better? It looks like everyone was hurt by your thoughtless actions,” Miroku angrily contoured, losing the mask of his concern.

“Shut up, monk. Don’t act like you don’t know anything that happened last night.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I heard everything! I know you snuck into the hut, I heard you guys talking and gossiping--just fuck off! It just fuckin’ proves I’m better off alone! I can’t trust anybody because I'm just a monster who can’t ever be accepted for who or what I am!!!” Inuyasha howled before leaping off, hearing the monk and young fox kit call after him.

Fuck them. 

Fuck everyone. 

He wasn’t going to be played again.

Inuyasha was going to die alone. Because who would ever love such a monster? If Kagome, the kindest most gentle woman, the woman whose scent literally could beacon him from miles away, couldn’t love him? Then no one ever could.

~~~~

Miroku’s words failed him as he watched the love of his life storm off in a heated upset and the man who he thought was his friend run off, like the hanyou had just been told he wasn’t the one who was loved.

He and Sango had stirred in the morning when Miroku felt the thin barrier around them shift. Sitting up had disturbed Sango, a trained warrior who slept lightly to keep her wits about her. Initially they decided to let Inuyasha and Kagome have their moment, hoping their brief conversation had been enough to get through to the princess. But they were wrong…

For some reason, Inuyasha had turned Kagome down and had delivered her directly to the lord. Sango shook with anger from what was happening with her best friend, while Miroku had been more than confused on what was happening.

Shippo pounced on him, something the monk couldn’t blame him for after the guards and soldier’s harsh treatment of the demons when they were forced out of their homes and territories. Miroku helped him onto his shoulder and watched as Sango made haste to be at Kagome’s side…

The way they conversed… Miroku could tell Kagome was trying to be strong for Sango, as if she wanted her best friend to find and embrace the happiness she couldn’t. The monk found it heart-breaking to watch from afar. He took a chance and glanced at Inuyasha to see the mixture of emotions cloud his face making it even more distressing. Clearly, there was something amiss. Inuyasha was in love with Kagome. But there he stood, glaring at the ground or at Kagome in misery and pain. What in the Gods’ name was wrong with him?!

Stepping forward, he took Sango into his arms, and nodded to Kagome, wishing her luck and whatever form of happiness she was trying to get…

Onigumo lifted her effortlessly onto his horse and they were off. That was when Sango escaped his hold and was face-to-face with a very depressed and irate hanyou. They yelled back and forth until Sango stormed off in frustration and hopelessness. 

Then the hanyou ran off… making very little sense. His words: “I heard everything! I know you snuck into the hut, I heard you guys talking and gossiping--just fuck off! It just fuckin’ proves I’m better off alone! I can’t trust anybody because I'm just a monster who can’t ever be accepted for who or what I am!!!”

If Inuyasha had heard, he would know Kagome was talking about herself in the hut the previous night. But he was acting as if she had been talking about him--and that  _ he  _ was the monster, not Kagome.

Miroku had to think quickly, try and make Inuyasha realize he had misheard and misinterpreted what Kagome had said, and also convince Sango to help the fucking moron come to his senses! That it would be for the Kagome’s greater good!

“Shippo--follow him,” Miroku ordered quietly. “We will follow shortly; we don’t have much time to turn this around.”

“Do you think we can stop Kagome’s wedding? Why are they fighting??”

“Inuyasha misinterpreted the princess’s words. Last night while you were sleeping, I learned what Lady Kagome was hiding,” Miroku replied.

“What??”

“I will tell you after this has been handled. Please, Shippo. You must go now and try and slow the hanyou down.”

“A-Alright,” Shippo swallowed.

“Do it for Kagome,” Miroku coaxed. The young fox seemed to find the courage to follow, transforming into the pink balloon he had two days prior when he had to carry the hanyou to safety after the bandit attack. The pink orb floated up and over the trees, following the hanyou.

Miroku turned quickly to follow Sango, running after her in a quick pace to catch up. He did not have the senses of a hanyou, so could only hope she hadn’t made some wild turns or jumps to evade him.

“Sango??” he called.

“What do you want?” she replied. Spinning around and coming to a halt, the monk found the slayer up in a tree. 

“Why are you up there?”

“Trying to make it to my village quickly before I have the nerve to chase down Inuyasha and gut him for hurting my best friend--my sister,” Sango said as she glared at the ground angrily.

“I know--it seems there was a miscommunication though, my dear Sango.”

“Caused by him!!!”

“Slightly--it did not help we were all within the hut and when he likely approached to talk to Kagome, he misheard what we were talking about. As a hanyou, I cannot blame him for harboring such insecurities if he had listened in on the wrong part of the conversation…”

“He didn’t even let her explain!”

“Of course not. While Inuyasha won’t admit to this, it hurt him gravely to hear Lady Kagome didn’t care. So much so, he took away her choice to be with him. While he was wounded by what he thought the princess’s words meant, Inuyasha still tried to give her the life he thought she wanted… A life with a human prince.”

Sango seemed to mull over his words and finally leapt down from the high perch of the tree to stand beside him. She studied his face, to see if what he was saying was truly genuine, which it was; Inuyasha, while rough around the edges, was a good man. He wasn’t a beast or monster like so many hanyou were made out to be.

Shippo and Miroku hadn’t lied to the inuyoukai about how the world had changed since he had been born… Inuyasha was well over two-hundred years old. A lot had changed since then. Not that people were jumping over the moon at the birth of a half-demon, or even flocking to demons when they passed through villages. But there was almost an unspoken tolerance toward each other.

Kagome, a princess, had even allowed herself to fall in love with him--knowing it may even make her fate change. The way she had stepped out of the hut as a full demon? She was willing to risk it all for Inuyasha.

“If he messes this up--”

“He won’t!”

“We are not to tell him her secret. Kagome will be the one to share that, IF she decides to share it now.”

“Of course, of course, my dear Sango.”

“Then… we should continue towards my village. It is not far,” Sango replied gently, her shoulder relaxing slightly. 

“You still wish to return? It is… a little out of the way. And if we don’t make it by sundown--”   
  


“Don’t worry; we’re picking up my partner. She’s been staying with my brother and father until after Kagome was freed.”

“Partner?” Miroku echoed.

“Yes; come on!” Sango beckoned as she took off running. Miroku stood, flabbergasted at her quickness with her giant boomerang still strapped to her back. Smiling, thinking to himself what a lucky man he was to have such a partner to travel in life with, he chased her, and hoped that before they had to rush to the hanyou, he could ask her father for his permission to wed his daughter.

~~~~

“Go away,” Inuyasha ordered.

“No!” Shippo cried.

“Do you not realize everyone else is gone? No one else is here. That means you can get the fuck outta here too,” Inuyasha growled. 

“No! I don’t have a home anymore! I’m staying here--with you! My friend!”

“We ain’t fuckin’ friends.”

“Yes we are! We went on an adventure together! How can you discredit that??”

“Just got the fuck away. A demon and hanyou don’t belong together--a half-demon doesn’t belong anywhere.”

“That’s not true!!!”   
  


“Even Kagome feels that way!!” Inuyasha spat.

“Don’t be so moronic,” Inuyasha heard a voice from behind him with an accompanying smack to the back of his head.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” Inuyasha yelped as he gripped his head.

“We couldn’t let you wander off all alone and wallow in self-pity when you actually shouldn’t be,” Miroku supplied from behind him.

“WHAT IN GODDAMN--”

“Kagome wasn’t even talking about you last night!” Sango shouted from Miroku’s side. “You twisted what she was saying and just automatically assumed it was about you! For someone who thought they were in love, you let the self-doubt come between the two of you! And look where that has put you!”

“Shut up!!! Who the fuck was she even talking about then??! Huh?? Riddle me that!!” Inuyasha argued, standing back up and facing the two humans head on.

“None of your fucking business,” Sango replied angrily.

“That is for Lady Kagome to tell, and for you find out. That is, if she can find it to forgive you for your mistrust in her,” Miroku stated.

“She doesn’t care about me. I’m a worthless hanyou.”

“UGH! Get your head out of your ass!!” Sango yelled. “Kagome is somehow in love with your dumbass!”

“Whatever.”

“It is true, Inuyasha. Don’t lie about how you had also fallen for her. We both saw it,” Miroku added.

“Inuyasha… Kagome did love you. She treated you so differently than the rest of us,” Shippo supplied from the other side of him than Miroku and Sango..

“That means nothin’. She coulda just felt sorry for the shitty half-demon. A monster--”

“Shut. Up. Quit with the self-wallowing and grow up!! Are you really willing to let Kagome go??? To let her get away? To marry some ungrateful human who will keep her locked in his bedroom until she withers and then casts her out for not being young and in his eyes ‘beautiful’? To be taken over and over--”

“FUCKING HELL,” Inuyasha snarled, his youki rising just at the thought of another male touching her and growling loudly. How dare the lord--

No--

This was… This was his doing… Not the lord, not the monk, not the slayer, not the kit… His. 

He had pushed her away before she could even speak. He had pushed her away before she could explain to him what they had been discussing the night prior. He… He had fucked up.

God. Did he even deserve Kagome? After all of this? She… She did deserve better,

“I see where your head is at, my friend. Lady Kagome had chosen you; albeit, you are a little gruffer and dense, she still fell for you. If you go to her and prove to her you are all in, as I think you want to be, especially based upon your youki,” Miroku supplied.

“The fuck does that mean?”

“It means your demon half acknowledges Kagome as your mate,” Sango explained. “Did you… Do you not know how all that works?”

Inuyasha glowered off to the side, trying to hide his embarrassment as well as discouragement that he had no idea what the fuck they were talking about. He knew his youki surged thinking of Kagome being with anyone else. But he had literally… why… He handed her off like she was just some _ thing _ ! Without another thought of…

He thought that was what would make her fappy. 

But now… Now that he knew that wasn’t the case… Now knowing she did love him in return…

Fuckin’ shit.

His youkai was fighting every goddamn part of that plan now--fighting to take control and race over to the lord’s castle and break down the doors and just take Kagome right then. But Inuyasha was better than that. Inuyasha wasn’t a monster. No. He would be the man for Kagome. He would be her hero.

“No. But right now, I don’t got time to hear about it--we gotta go,” Inuyasha scoffed before realizing they were somehow there. Beside him. “Wait, how the fuck--”

“Meet Kirara,” Sango said as a youkai feline leapt onto her shoulder. “She has been in our family for generations. My village wasn’t too far from where we separated and I was pretty hell bent on going after Kagome to try and talk her out of her decision and to save her before the wedding. But, I knew on foot, I probably wouldn’t be able to get to Kagome in time, save her, and get somewhere safe before nightfall. But now… it’s up to  _ you _ .”

Inuyasha sighed and let his ears lower. It really was all up to him. He had to try and beg for Kagome’s forgiveness and also hope she would still feel… this weird insane draw they felt towards each other. A deeper connection that he’d never had with anyone. They were able to communicate and react freely around each other. Years of isolation, self-doubt, self-hatred and still, the walls just seemed to crumble down like sand being swept from shore in the raging tides of a storm.

Kagome could possibly be the only thing Inuyasha ever desired. 

And he almost fucked up their chance of happiness.

“Let’s get a move on then,” Inuyasha ordered. 

“We won’t slow you down,” Sango replied as she nodded to Kirara who jumped off her shoulder and transformed into a giant sabretooth. And then they were off. Little words between them as Kirara carried the monk, slayer, and fox kit as Inuyasha ran through the forest weaving in and out of the trees. It was only mid-day. They had until the sun set.

~~~~

Kagome was swept up by handmaids and taken away from Lord Onigumo. The entire ride back to the castle left the princess uneasy. If her skin could literally move away from disgust, it would have crawled off her body. 

There was something dark and ominous about the young lord, but honestly, Kagome couldn’t care less. Even though she knew if she were whole, the prince would never let his filthy hands touch her. All she wanted to feel was the sinful scrap of sharp claws tracing her curves, to look up and see beautiful golden eyes looking back down at her…Silver hair cascading around them, being completely surrounded by his untamed youki and his warm body…

When had she even gotten so used to feeling youki? Not until she met him. It was like her soul just automatically sensed it and latched onto it, like a babe to a breast, like a butterfly to a flower...

If only she had… No. No. Duty. Honor. Family. Kagome had been a fool to believe in the fairytales she was told as a child. To allow three days’ time to let herself get swept up in love and lust and longing and dreams that could never be fulfilled. This was never about her and her happy ending. This had always been about marrying a human man. Restoring the family honor and relinquishing the curse that had been cast upon them because of Tsubaki. 

Kagome was a fool to think she even had the luxury to have everything and have to sacrifice nothing. And to make everything worse? The love of her life tore out her heart. So how could she ever be happy again? Never. Without Inuyasha, without feeling him near her, she was empty. Numb.

The princess would just go through the motions. Maybe the lord could mold her empty chest back together… Maybe…

No one in her family had married a demon yet, so clearly she was following tradition. Kagome could convince herself she was doing this for her family. That all in all, this was the power play move. Exploring anything other than duty was what the weak little girl who got locked in the tower would have done. She hadn’t grown up at all. Maybe Inuyasha taking her love would make her stronger, more mature, more viable. Kagome could survive anything if she could survive being taken from Inuyasha, and willingly follow another man who made her cringe at the thought of being in close proximity of him. Her family’s honor would be intact, the curse would remain hidden unless she bore a girl, and then…

Then...

Then… what…

She… she would have to bear this man a  _ child _ …

The princess was going to have to be this man’s wife. In every sense of the word. Nausea hit her. Hard. Oh Gods. This man was going to actually touch her. Be with her. As a man and woman. And this man wasn’t--

He wasn’t Inuyasha.

One maid after another asked her question after question. Flowers? Food preference? Sheets for the futon? Snacks? Tea to prevent pregnancy? Goals? Plans?

Kagome waved off the handmaids once she was dressed in her fancy white kimono and the multiple layers showing not only her purity, but her status as a hime. Shutting her eyes, she tried to banish all the thoughts, all the unwanted ideas the maids had put in her head…

Her body quivered as the action did not dissuade the images of being a young mother. Sobs began to get caught in her throat, reminding her she wasn’t completely hollow yet. No. Pain still made her body burn with regret and remorse over having to become a wife to a man she did not love. A wife of someone else who was not Inuyasha…

Why was this her fate? Why… Why couldn’t she have been born where she could have gotten to know Inuyasha differently? Maybe he could have seen past her nightly changes and loved her in spite of who she morphed into.

Maybe she could have even escaped the life she had to live by day and cope with at night.

All Kagome could do was wish Sango well. She didn’t need to suffer a life of loneliness or of a broken heart. The monk had confessed his growing feelings towards her sister and after a lifetime of duty before Sango’s own life, Kagome felt she should free her from any other tasks. 

If the hime couldn’t be with the one she loved, then so be it. But that didn’t mean she should hold Sango back from being to live her life.

Turning towards the window, she slowly walked over the tatami mats to gaze out at the slowly reddening horizon. Blood red. How ominous. How…

Her fate was unfair. But as her family was all she had left, Kagome would live by them.

~~~~

Inuyasha, Kirara, and the others made good time dashing from his lands to the castle of the lord. By the time they got there, the sun had hit the horizon and the sky had turned a blood red. If that wasn’t ironic. 

The moment they hit the ground over the gates of the kingdom, they were swarmed with soldiers and guards. 

“Go! Kirara, Miroku and I will handle them!” Sango ordered Inuyasha as she launched off her feline and began to hold off the guards. Miroku followed, and the neko-youkai aided in their venture. Shippo leapt off the monk’s shoulder onto Inuyasha’s, signaling he was going with him.

Inuyasha didn’t have any issue with that. Maybe she’d forgive him if she saw him trying to be trustful. Dashing off in haste, he made it up and around the castle to the shrine that sat in the mountain tops. Weaving and bobbing, the hanyou finally made it to the tatori gates and stood atop them. He gazed down and saw by a tall standing tree, Kagome and the lord. She was holding the sake cup kneeling down before the lord as they were about to share the liquor to seal the bond. While the circumstances were strange in which they had met and traveled together to get to that point, Inuyasha had never seen her look more beautiful and rigid in her long white kimono and the multiple layers showing him her true status and station in life. The traditional Shinto crown was upon her head, and only seemed to make her shoulders sag. 

That was when he noticed the full message her body was sending out to anyone who actually knew Kagome. Her usual beautiful radiant bright sapphire eyes were dull, like the life had been sucked from them. Silent tears dripped down her face that was so pale, he wondered if her soul had been removed from her body. The smile she usually bore was forced, and made Inuyasha’s heart crumple in guilt.

What did that fucker--

No… Inuyasha had no one to blame but himself. This whole wedding--it was happening because he was a fucking asshole and broke her heart. All because he didn’t listen to her and had just assumed she was calling him a monster.

How could he not trust her? What kind of love was that?? 

“Inuyasha!!” Shippo whispered desperately to get his attention. Below them, Kagome was about to take a sip of the sake, her hands trembling and he saw the lord’s patience wearing thin.

“Kagome!!!” Inuyasha yelled before she could take a sip. 

Shock washed over her face, along with something that looked akinned to hope as she breathed his name softly in breathlessness. “Inuyasha?”

“Stop!” he ordered as he jumped down and landed beside her, the villagers and the lord gasping. The lord rose in disgust and the others took steps back in trepidation.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as her face contorted with confusion.

“Kagome!” Shippo cried.

  
“Inuyasha, what’s going on??” Kagome pressed again.

“I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry. Don’t marry him.”

“Inuyasha… it’s… it’s too late for all that…”

The lord began to laugh along with the witnesses, making Inuyasha's ears dip down in embarrassment. It hadn’t really occurred to him others were present for his confession or his plea for Kagome to turn down a fuckin’ prince. Averting his eyes, the hanyou shut them tightly, trying to control himself and his emotions before things spilled out he couldn’t take back again.

“How funny! It seems the beast is in love with the princess.”

Kagome’s soft hand brought Inuyasha face back to her. His eyes popped open in shock from the gentleness of her touch--of her silky smooth skin against his cheek, “Inuyasha? Is… is this true?”

Inuyasha tried to sustain eye contact with her. He wanted her to see it in his miserable eyes how fuckin’ apologetic he truly was, how much he actually loved her. Her eyes searched his, but her face frowned slightly as if it wasn’t enough… 

And it shouldn’t have been. Kagome was completely validated in her feelings of mistrust of him. Especially after the morning they had shared together. “Yes…” he swallowed nervously. Suddenly his throat was tight, and the words were hard to form. Well, who was he kidding, words were never his strong suit anyway. But--but he needed to do it. For her. For Kagome. How would it be fair for him not to put himself out there when she had tried and he had torn her in two? Like he had thought she had done him?

“Kagome… I… I care about you… More than I… More than I ever thought I could care about anyone. When I heard you speak--about a monster--I just--I thought you were talkin’ about me… And I get it. I fucked up. You don’t have to forgive me--I’d totally understand but, don’t marry this shithead. Please… I--I just--” Her soft finger pressed against his quivering lips and he sighed in resignation. He’d fucked up again.

“What a fool. Come, my princess, let us finish the ceremony,” Onigumo summoned as he extended his hand towards her.

She rose and stepped back from him,  _ and _ away from Onigumo, nearly tripping on her multiple open layers of kimono that covered her. He stood to follow, but Kagome shook her head no, smiling sadly and softly. Her gaze shifted to the horizon. Inuyasha’s eyes followed, as if he was looking for whatever she was. Instead, all he saw was the sun dipping beneath the land, entering its night’s slumber.

“By day one way… By night, another…” Kagome whispered as if in a trance before turning back to him. “When I said ‘no one could love such a monster’, I was not referring to you…” Kagome turned back to him, smiled again, her anxiety clearly rolling off her body in waves as her shaking arm took the headdress from her head and dropped it beside her, allowing her full lucious black ebony strands to fall down her back. She shifted and allowed the additional layers to drop, just leaving her in her single kimono as she sighed and closed her eyes as the sun took its final breath in the sky.

He suddenly felt a presence of demonic aura sweeping around her; navy youki swirled around her rampantly. Inuyasha gasped as he saw her nails lengthen and her mane thicken. Dark navy stripes appeared on her face and fangs grew past her lips. When he saw her ears sharpen and move up into her hair and emerge as furry triangles, Inuyasha nearly lost his mind. The only thing that kept him grounded was her scent; it was still her. Sunflowers and honey.

Then… Kagome opened her blood red glowing eyes with bright cyan irises… Gasps and murmurs surrounded them. Kagome… was a demon. But even then, the princess’s eyes and ears stayed focused on him. Shippo was quivering on his shoulder, but remained silent. The kit knew this was between him and her. Thank Fuck. But… the way the hime stared at him--he knew. She knew him. There was recognition on a primal level. Their youki brushed together and danced and that was when he realized what the fuck Sango had been talking about; Kagome was his mate. 

And Kagome knew.

And Kagome loved him… and most importantly, she forgave him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments fuel my soul! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Did anyone guess what AU this is based off? :)


End file.
